Strangely optimistic about next season.

[Elm Park Kid]

I have faith in Brian so i'm optimistic as well.

As normal, i'm expecting to have to wait until November before his team click though. I just hope we don't have too much moaning from fickle fans expecting a brand new team to spanking teams 5-0 every week.

[Longhorn1970]

I have faith in Brian so i'm optimistic as well.

As normal, i'm expecting to have to wait until November before his team click though. I just hope we don't have too much moaning from fickle fans expecting a brand new team to spanking teams 5-0 every week.

Precisely how long do you give him to get his act together ?

[Top Flight]

I have faith in Brian so i'm optimistic as well.

As normal, i'm expecting to have to wait until November before his team click though. I just hope we don't have too much moaning from fickle fans expecting a brand new team to spanking teams 5-0 every week.

Precisely how long do you give him to get his act together ?

As long as it takes you unfaithful, disloyal, non committed moaner.

[MoorgateRoyal]

Hopefully we will be back to high tempo direct football, rather than bollocks tippy tappy square passing everything via Norwood

I'd like to see a combination of good football on the floor, but at the same time not sacrificing the chance of a quick break to push the ball into the midfield at all costs. We need patience in possession in some games, but a pragmatic approach is best. That's the kind of football that, done right, can get you into the Prem.

We're a long way from that, though.

For now I'd like to see a team built around some talented youngsters and shrewd signings, but most of all players with the desire to do well. I think McDermott is a manager that can do that, and I think he deserves some time to try.

EDIT: I also think we will do OK next year. Just a gut feeling that we'll surprise people, not really based on much else.

[Ian Royal]

Bet you're really good company at games

It's the off season. Brian deserves a chance. Clean slate; and we go again.

You know exactly how this club can rise from looking toilet to becoming contenders in only a couple of months, it wasn't a dream, it actually happens. And it can easily happen again.

One final note - Stop saying ineptitude so much. You sound like a tosser.

Bet you're really good company at games

It's the off season. Brian deserves a chance. Clean slate; and we go again.

You know exactly how this club can rise from looking toilet to becoming contenders in only a couple of months, it wasn't a dream, it actually happens. And it can easily happen again.

One final note - Stop saying ineptitude so much. You sound like a tosser.

Ok big man. I like your optimism.

The guy said dont tell me Brian is tactically inept so naturally I responded by highlighting why he is inept. I used many others words to explain it not just that one in case you didn't notice.

The reason i said "Don't tell me Brian is tactically inept" is because you said that Brian was tactically inept. So it all started with you Royally Fffffd up.

Stop accusing the tactical genius of being inept. He is an outstanding manager. He has proved it to you before and now he will prove it to you again. As the Royals go marching up up up.

Any chance you could both stop wittering so much hyperbolic nonsense. You're as bad as each other and just as ridiculously over the top at your different ends of the spectrum, no where near the reality that's somewhere in the middle.

[Top Flight]

Sorry

[genome]

the spectrum

Bit harsh m8

[Maneki Neko]

I have faith in Brian so i'm optimistic as well.

As normal, i'm expecting to have to wait until November before his team click though. I just hope we don't have too much moaning from fickle fans expecting a brand new team to spanking teams 5-0 every week.

Precisely how long do you give him to get his act together ?

If its free transfers and kids, and we lose our other high paid players. Indefinitely

[Elm Park Kid]

I have faith in Brian so i'm optimistic as well.

As normal, i'm expecting to have to wait until November before his team click though. I just hope we don't have too much moaning from fickle fans expecting a brand new team to spanking teams 5-0 every week.

Precisely how long do you give him to get his act together ?

Well I take a different approach to most fans. I don't really care about short term success or how pretty our style of football is. I like McDermott and i'd be happy just to see some stability at the club as long as we have players that want to be here. I don't see why a club with only the 11th highest attendance in the league and no 'sugar daddy' should be expecting promotion every season. If I was the owners of RFC i'd give McDermott a permanent contract which would only be cancelled if we went below league one.

[Top Flight]

I have faith in Brian so i'm optimistic as well.

As normal, i'm expecting to have to wait until November before his team click though. I just hope we don't have too much moaning from fickle fans expecting a brand new team to spanking teams 5-0 every week.

Precisely how long do you give him to get his act together ?

Well I take a different approach to most fans. I don't really care about short term success or how pretty our style of football is. I like McDermott and i'd be happy just to see some stability at the club as long as we have players that want to be here. I don't see why a club with only the 11th highest attendance in the league and no 'sugar daddy' should be expecting promotion every season. If I was the owners of RFC i'd give McDermott a permanent contract which would only be cancelled if we went below league one.

I'm with you. You're a proper fan. Total respect.

People think that I'm extremely to one end of the pro Brian fan club. But I think you're even further to the right of me. I think I would start kicking off if we were struggling in League One.

[quickwingerswife]

Optimistic if Brian leaves.

[Longhorn1970]

Bet you're really good company at games

It's the off season. Brian deserves a chance. Clean slate; and we go again.

You know exactly how this club can rise from looking toilet to becoming contenders in only a couple of months, it wasn't a dream, it actually happens. And it can easily happen again.

One final note - Stop saying ineptitude so much. You sound like a tosser.

Bet you're really good company at games

It's the off season. Brian deserves a chance. Clean slate; and we go again.

You know exactly how this club can rise from looking toilet to becoming contenders in only a couple of months, it wasn't a dream, it actually happens. And it can easily happen again.

One final note - Stop saying ineptitude so much. You sound like a tosser.

Ok big man. I like your optimism.

The guy said dont tell me Brian is tactically inept so naturally I responded by highlighting why he is inept. I used many others words to explain it not just that one in case you didn't notice.

The reason i said "Don't tell me Brian is tactically inept" is because you said that Brian was tactically inept. So it all started with you Royally Fffffd up.

Stop accusing the tactical genius of being inept. He is an outstanding manager. He has proved it to you before and now he will prove it to you again. As the Royals go marching up up up.

'he's a tactical genius, he's a tactical genius, he's a tactical genius' ... Keep saying it and you will believe it.

[RoyallyFcuked]

Well I take a different approach to most fans. I don't really care about short term success or how pretty our style of football is. I like McDermott and i'd be happy just to see some stability at the club as long as we have players that want to be here. I don't see why a club with only the 11th highest attendance in the league and no 'sugar daddy' should be expecting promotion every season. If I was the owners of RFC i'd give McDermott a permanent contract which would only be cancelled if we went below league one.

A fair post that I agree with to some extent. I guess I'm different in the fact that I prefer to see decent football and I'd rather watch us play well as much as possible even if we lose a few games as apose to playing shit most of the time and deserving to lose or getting results that our performance usually didn't merit.

Also considering where we have been in the last 10 years or so I think the objective every season should be to challenge for promotion/play offs, and not to merely stay in the championship or even be mid table every season.

The reason i said "Don't tell me Brian is tactically inept" is because you said that Brian was tactically inept. So it all started with you Royally Fffffd up.

Stop accusing the tactical genius of being inept. He is an outstanding manager. He has proved it to you before and now he will prove it to you again. As the Royals go marching up up up.

I'm not the first person to say it pal, and I highly doubt I will be the last.

I've actually had more people agree with me than you have, which is saying something considering the amount of McDermott fanboys on here.

Have to admire your level of optimism and faith in the man, even if it is bordering on insanity.

Did we ever play good football under Brian? No. Were we ever exciting to watch? Rarely. Was there a lot of luck involved? Yes.

You're the one thats judgementally inept, your blind loyal love of the bald one is blinding you severely.

Whilst I'd agree that Top Flight's over the top defence of McDermott is ludicrous. It's only a match for what you've written there.

The final few months of the title season were the most thrilling, exciting few months of football we've ever had. I just can't imagine any Reading fan thinking otherwise.

In fairness you make a very good point. Perhaps most of us have selective memories and in this case I can't help but remember the negatives while others remember the positives. We have had some great times under Brian I wasn't saying we haven't. The second half of the title season was brilliant no question, West Ham away was one of the best games I've ever been to and we actually played really well that day, also Forest away the season before sticks in mind as one of the best ever.

The play off season and the title season were similar in the fact from being nowhere around Christmas we soared into contention with an 8 game win streak, so yes when things start going in our favour and the momentum is there Brian can build on it. It's when things are not going so well that I question his abilities.

If we take a look at why we were exciting in the title season, and we can compare the two title winning seasons we've had, the one under McD was exciting because the games were close and dramatic, we didn't dominate games and we didn't create that many chances but were very good at taking the ones we did create. If you look at it, often in games in that run in we'd have a lot less shots than the opposition but still get the result. (Southampton away for example, but with three superbly taken goals and poor finishing from the opposition it didn't matter). This continued into the Premier League season in the games we got results in as well. There were too many games in that season though, where there was a lack of ideas which left us with little chance, the way we played in the Championship was not enough anymore and Brian seemed to have no clue how to change it.

Meanwhile the season under Coppell we dominated games playing great football and always creating chances, and because of that you had always faith we could do the job. Of course there were times when we conceded but we'd just go up the other end and score again, this trait also continued somewhat into the first Premier League season. There was an air of confidence and belief about that side like nothing I've seen in my time watching Reading. The McDermott team didn't have that, although part of it is the fact that despite both sides having no real stars or stand out players the Coppell team was a more talented squad and had better quality overall.

I guess what I'm saying is, it wasn't a fluke when we went up under Brian but it feels like a one off. His basic football and tactics combined with some amazing team spirit from a bunch of decent enough at that level but mostly fairly limited footballers that felt they owed him somewhat plus a never say die attitude that meant we kept ourselves at least within reach in games right till the end and stole results with late goals. The chances of Brian creating something like that happen again, in the same way without really changing much seem very slim.

But the team spirit of the 106ers was brilliant as well, even better in fact, and they still had the never say die attitude, they just relied on it less because they had better quality than the 2012 team in all areas.

I agree that because McD over achieved massively, in a way he was a victim of his own success. Despite that, none of this changes the fact his style of football is boring and one dimensional and that he is limited in his abilty as a manager in my opinion, and what he has shown over time is that he cannot really adapt, he doesn't have a plan B.

If you get a team like the one that went up under Coppell playing the way that we were, it would win promotion from the Championship every time. The team that went up under McDermott would not.

If by some absolute miracle he takes us up again I'll happily declare my love for the man and say I'm sorry that I ever doubted him. I just cannot see it happening.

[royalp-we]

Well I take a different approach to most fans. I don't really care about short term success or how pretty our style of football is. I like McDermott and i'd be happy just to see some stability at the club as long as we have players that want to be here. I don't see why a club with only the 11th highest attendance in the league and no 'sugar daddy' should be expecting promotion every season. If I was the owners of RFC i'd give McDermott a permanent contract which would only be cancelled if we went below league one.

A fair post that I agree with to some extent. I guess I'm different in the fact that I prefer to see decent football and I'd rather watch us play well as much as possible even if we lose a few games as apose to playing shit most of the time and deserving to lose or getting results that our performance usually didn't merit.

Also considering where we have been in the last 10 years or so I think the objective every season should be to challenge for promotion/play offs, and not to merely stay in the championship or even be mid table every season.

The reason i said "Don't tell me Brian is tactically inept" is because you said that Brian was tactically inept. So it all started with you Royally Fffffd up.

Stop accusing the tactical genius of being inept. He is an outstanding manager. He has proved it to you before and now he will prove it to you again. As the Royals go marching up up up.

I'm not the first person to say it pal, and I highly doubt I will be the last.

I've actually had more people agree with me than you have, which is saying something considering the amount of McDermott fanboys on here.

Have to admire your level of optimism and faith in the man, even if it is bordering on insanity.

Did we ever play good football under Brian? No. Were we ever exciting to watch? Rarely. Was there a lot of luck involved? Yes.

You're the one thats judgementally inept, your blind loyal love of the bald one is blinding you severely.

Whilst I'd agree that Top Flight's over the top defence of McDermott is ludicrous. It's only a match for what you've written there.

The final few months of the title season were the most thrilling, exciting few months of football we've ever had. I just can't imagine any Reading fan thinking otherwise.

In fairness you make a very good point. Perhaps most of us have selective memories and in this case I can't help but remember the negatives while others remember the positives. We have had some great times under Brian I wasn't saying we haven't. The second half of the title season was brilliant no question, West Ham away was one of the best games I've ever been to and we actually played really well that day, also Forest away the season before sticks in mind as one of the best ever.

The play off season and the title season were similar in the fact from being nowhere around Christmas we soared into contention with an 8 game win streak, so yes when things start going in our favour and the momentum is there Brian can build on it. It's when things are not going so well that I question his abilities.

If we take a look at why we were exciting in the title season, and we can compare the two title winning seasons we've had, the one under McD was exciting because the games were close and dramatic, we didn't dominate games and we didn't create that many chances but were very good at taking the ones we did create. If you look at it, often in games in that run in we'd have a lot less shots than the opposition but still get the result. (Southampton away for example, but with three superbly taken goals and poor finishing from the opposition it didn't matter). This continued into the Premier League season in the games we got results in as well. There were too many games in that season though, where there was a lack of ideas which left us with little chance, the way we played in the Championship was not enough anymore and Brian seemed to have no clue how to change it.

Meanwhile the season under Coppell we dominated games playing great football and always creating chances, and because of that you had always faith we could do the job. Of course there were times when we conceded but we'd just go up the other end and score again, this trait also continued somewhat into the first Premier League season. There was an air of confidence and belief about that side like nothing I've seen in my time watching Reading. The McDermott team didn't have that, although part of it is the fact that despite both sides having no real stars or stand out players the Coppell team was a more talented squad and had better quality overall.

I guess what I'm saying is, it wasn't a fluke when we went up under Brian but it feels like a one off. His basic football and tactics combined with some amazing team spirit from a bunch of decent enough at that level but mostly fairly limited footballers that felt they owed him somewhat plus a never say die attitude that meant we kept ourselves at least within reach in games right till the end and stole results with late goals. The chances of Brian creating something like that happen again, in the same way without really changing much seem very slim.

But the team spirit of the 106ers was brilliant as well, even better in fact, and they still had the never say die attitude, they just relied on it less because they had better quality than the 2012 team in all areas.

I agree that because McD over achieved massively, in a way he was a victim of his own success. Despite that, none of this changes the fact his style of football is boring and one dimensional and that he is limited in his abilty as a manager in my opinion, and what he has shown over time is that he cannot really adapt, he doesn't have a plan B.

If you get a team like the one that went up under Coppell playing the way that we were, it would win promotion from the Championship every time. The team that went up under McDermott would not.

If by some absolute miracle he takes us up again I'll happily declare my love for the man and say I'm sorry that I ever doubted him. I just cannot see it happening.

I'll put an objective in far fewer words.

1 Championship title, 1 Playoff final, 3 FA Cup Qtr Finals.

I don't think Reading, or any other club, will ever emulate what the 106ers managed to achieve. I think that was a one off. Much like the Arsenal 'unbeatables'.

If you constantly judge football against what Steve Coppell achieved for Reading FC, well lets just say you're in for a lifetime of disappointment. It was a beautiful thing that happened and something I'll take to the grave.

In normal circumstances, this league is about setting up correctly, the right mentality, grit, fight and determination to sneak over that finishing line. I think BMcD is the man, who given time, can get that fight back into the squad; he's done it for a Reading squad on more than one occasion.

You're suggestion of people 'bordering on insanity' for being optimistic - take your head out of the clouds and be proud of what we have achieved over other clubs in the last 20yrs. There's a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Reading Football Club.

[royalp-we]

Next season we are going to be on a par with huge clubs like Newcastle Utd, Aston Villa, Leeds, Nottm Forest, Birmingham, Wolves, big historical football clubs with success deep routed in their histories - I know we are going to give them all a run for their money. I'm not sure exactly what people are expecting in cloud cookoo land.

It looks like Brian is here for the forseeable and there's no point in ruining your summer over it

Come August we'll be looking at a new team. Of course there's reasons to be strangely optimistic about next season

[Vision]

Well I take a different approach to most fans. I don't really care about short term success or how pretty our style of football is. I like McDermott and i'd be happy just to see some stability at the club as long as we have players that want to be here. I don't see why a club with only the 11th highest attendance in the league and no 'sugar daddy' should be expecting promotion every season. If I was the owners of RFC i'd give McDermott a permanent contract which would only be cancelled if we went below league one.

A fair post that I agree with to some extent. I guess I'm different in the fact that I prefer to see decent football and I'd rather watch us play well as much as possible even if we lose a few games as apose to playing shit most of the time and deserving to lose or getting results that our performance usually didn't merit.

Also considering where we have been in the last 10 years or so I think the objective every season should be to challenge for promotion/play offs, and not to merely stay in the championship or even be mid table every season.

The reason i said "Don't tell me Brian is tactically inept" is because you said that Brian was tactically inept. So it all started with you Royally Fffffd up.

Stop accusing the tactical genius of being inept. He is an outstanding manager. He has proved it to you before and now he will prove it to you again. As the Royals go marching up up up.

I'm not the first person to say it pal, and I highly doubt I will be the last.

I've actually had more people agree with me than you have, which is saying something considering the amount of McDermott fanboys on here.

Have to admire your level of optimism and faith in the man, even if it is bordering on insanity.

Whilst I'd agree that Top Flight's over the top defence of McDermott is ludicrous. It's only a match for what you've written there.

The final few months of the title season were the most thrilling, exciting few months of football we've ever had. I just can't imagine any Reading fan thinking otherwise.

In fairness you make a very good point. Perhaps most of us have selective memories and in this case I can't help but remember the negatives while others remember the positives. We have had some great times under Brian I wasn't saying we haven't. The second half of the title season was brilliant no question, West Ham away was one of the best games I've ever been to and we actually played really well that day, also Forest away the season before sticks in mind as one of the best ever.

The play off season and the title season were similar in the fact from being nowhere around Christmas we soared into contention with an 8 game win streak, so yes when things start going in our favour and the momentum is there Brian can build on it. It's when things are not going so well that I question his abilities.

If we take a look at why we were exciting in the title season, and we can compare the two title winning seasons we've had, the one under McD was exciting because the games were close and dramatic, we didn't dominate games and we didn't create that many chances but were very good at taking the ones we did create. If you look at it, often in games in that run in we'd have a lot less shots than the opposition but still get the result. (Southampton away for example, but with three superbly taken goals and poor finishing from the opposition it didn't matter). This continued into the Premier League season in the games we got results in as well. There were too many games in that season though, where there was a lack of ideas which left us with little chance, the way we played in the Championship was not enough anymore and Brian seemed to have no clue how to change it.

Meanwhile the season under Coppell we dominated games playing great football and always creating chances, and because of that you had always faith we could do the job. Of course there were times when we conceded but we'd just go up the other end and score again, this trait also continued somewhat into the first Premier League season. There was an air of confidence and belief about that side like nothing I've seen in my time watching Reading. The McDermott team didn't have that, although part of it is the fact that despite both sides having no real stars or stand out players the Coppell team was a more talented squad and had better quality overall.

I guess what I'm saying is, it wasn't a fluke when we went up under Brian but it feels like a one off. His basic football and tactics combined with some amazing team spirit from a bunch of decent enough at that level but mostly fairly limited footballers that felt they owed him somewhat plus a never say die attitude that meant we kept ourselves at least within reach in games right till the end and stole results with late goals. The chances of Brian creating something like that happen again, in the same way without really changing much seem very slim.

But the team spirit of the 106ers was brilliant as well, even better in fact, and they still had the never say die attitude, they just relied on it less because they had better quality than the 2012 team in all areas.

I agree that because McD over achieved massively, in a way he was a victim of his own success. Despite that, none of this changes the fact his style of football is boring and one dimensional and that he is limited in his abilty as a manager in my opinion, and what he has shown over time is that he cannot really adapt, he doesn't have a plan B.

If you get a team like the one that went up under Coppell playing the way that we were, it would win promotion from the Championship every time. The team that went up under McDermott would not.

If by some absolute miracle he takes us up again I'll happily declare my love for the man and say I'm sorry that I ever doubted him. I just cannot see it happening.

I'll put an objective in far fewer words.

1 Championship title, 1 Playoff final, 3 FA Cup Qtr Finals.

I don't think Reading, or any other club, will ever emulate what the 106ers managed to achieve. I think that was a one off. Much like the Arsenal 'unbeatables'.

If you constantly judge football against what Steve Coppell achieved for Reading FC, well lets just say you're in for a lifetime of disappointment. It was a beautiful thing that happened and something I'll take to the grave.

In normal circumstances, this league is about setting up correctly, the right mentality, grit, fight and determination to sneak over that finishing line. I think BMcD is the man, who given time, can get that fight back into the squad; he's done it for a Reading squad on more than one occasion.

You're suggestion of people 'bordering on insanity' for being optimistic - take your head out of the clouds and be proud of what we have achieved over other clubs in the last 20yrs. There's a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Reading Football Club.

This is it really.

Also the strong finishes, winning streaks and momentum RF talks about all happened over time and after a period of struggling a bit. So to suggest there is no evidence for him being able to turn things around when we're struggling is wrong really. Certainly at this level anyway. I've put somewhere on here (I can't be arsed to dig it out) a post about where we were in December/January of McD's 3 championship seasons and where we finished up. It shows in Black and White that after a not so great 1st half of a season he is capable of turning things into something very good indeed. Was he out of his depth in the PL. Possibly but let's be honest, so was his Chairman and most of the players.

Also if people are going to make the Coppell comparison then you also have to compare the circumstances behind it. Coppell's team was built over a period of time, brick by brick I believe was the phrase, but without having to sell his best players. So each season there was a gradual improvement and investment in the playing side was made by a Chairman who was prepared to accept the losses associated with it at the time.

For McDermott the situation was completely different. The club were on a slight downward trajectory and parachute payments were ending. He had to build sides each individual season after having his key player sold very late in the transfer window. Despite scratching around for a while trying to find that winning formula he managed to do it each season. Also it's why I don't buy this one dimensional tactical tag aimed at him. Each season we played completely differently to account for the difference makers we had in the team. Gylffi, Long and Roberts. Those 3 sides all played completely different tactical formations and styles because of the differing personnel and circumstances at the time. The difference in the Premier League was that we didn't have any difference makers in the same mould for that level, other than Le Fondre perhaps, which worked for a short burst before subsiding again.

When he took over this time around it was in similar circumstances really. The evidence of the first 15 games or so would suggest he had a difference maker in Blackman. However he was already looking for the exit door. So after that I think he was looking to create something that would play to Vydra's strengths. Unfortunately that didn't work so after a period of time. he gave up on that and tried out a diamond formation which also didn't work for him. Again 2 completely separate tactical moves from someone who supposedly can "only play one way" .

I think it's a valid criticism to say that he does persevere with something not working for longer than most would but I think he inherited that trait from Coppell actually who was prone to the same thing. Also as with a lot of things this weakness is also his strength. his perseverance with Long for example in the face of a lot of stick proved successful. I think it's also right to point out that it's debateable whether the Championship season would have happened without AZ injecting the cash to buy Roberts and entice the sulking Kebe off his sick bed with shiny new contract.

Of course none of that remotely guarantees that he will be able to pull of the same trick in more difficult circumstances this time around and even the most fervent McD supporters (Top Flight aside probably) can't be anything but underwhelmed by what's happened since he joined. However I'd suggest that this was a particularly trying situation to come into halfway through the season with a mainly transitional squad of players clearly lacking in the "togetherness" that is essential to succeed in the Championship.

He'll be judged on what he does from here on in and that's as it should be. I think his past record with us in this division would suggest he's at least got a shot at making it work. I think he deserves a bit more respect and time than some are giving him.

[Maneki Neko]

Despite that, none of this changes the fact his style of football is boring and one dimensional and that he is limited in his abilty as a manager in my opinion, and what he has shown over time is that he cannot really adapt, he doesn't have a plan B.

complete nonsense,
lazy bollox
utter piffle

[Top Flight]

Vision, you've made a great post and I agree with you fully.

Don't get me wrong, I have been totally underwhelmed by this season. I have made that pretty clear. But, I don't blame McDermott for these deep routed problems that exist at the club and are the result of 3 to 4 years of mis management.

We've had two changes in ownership, there has been no direction coming from the top of the club, there has been a lot of uncertainty and poor decision making, uncertainity over finances.

We've had people like Clarke who earlier in the season said that there is no money and that he has to produce something out of nothing. He felt the job was too difficult and tried to get the hell out. How does that look to the players. If the manager feels that there is no chance of success at Reading then the players must be wondering as well. So Blackman just wants to go, Sa wanted out for whatever reason, the players became totally demotivated thinking there is no real hope or future at Reading FC. Kanu refused to extend his stay with us. Hammond has become disillusioned and walked out.

What kind of environment is this? No manager is going to be able to turn around that huge weight of negativity in a very short space of time.

McDermott is a much more positive human being. He thrives in adversity. He doesn't make excuses like Clarke that there is no money. He can still succeed even when the club are selling his best players. McDermott doesn't find excuses. He succeeds regardless. He will build a highly motivated, tight knit squad who will die for the cause. They will fight for Reading FC next season and for us the fans.

With McDermott there is hope, there is a future. The players will buy in to that.

Clarke just created total negativity. Whinge Whinge.... No money, we can't do anything unless we can sign Beric for however many mililons. He said that we will lose the race when trying to sign players because everyone else has more money than us.... Whinge whinge whinge. Negative bast*rd he is. Great that he's gone.

At the end of the day, Reading's success doesn't only depend on McDermott. He is important, but he is not the only factor. A lot of people and a lot of things need to be right at the club for success to come. But in the current environment, there really is no one else that I would rather have to manage us through this next phase of our history. McDermott is definitely the man for me and he deserves a lot of respect. He is arguably the best manager we have ever had. He could certainly make a strong case for that.

[bobby1413]

Vision, you've made a great post and I agree with you fully.

Don't get me wrong, I have been totally underwhelmed by this season. I have made that pretty clear. But, I don't blame McDermott for these deep routed problems that exist at the club and are the result of 3 to 4 years of mis management.

We've had two changes in ownership, there has been no direction coming from the top of the club, there has been a lot of uncertainty and poor decision making, uncertainity over finances.

We've had people like Clarke who earlier in the season said that there is no money and that he has to produce something out of nothing. He felt the job was too difficult and tried to get the hell out. How does that look to the players. If the manager feels that there is no chance of success at Reading then the players must be wondering as well. So Blackman just wants to go, Sa wanted out for whatever reason, the players became totally demotivated thinking there is no real hope or future at Reading FC. Kanu refused to extend his stay with us. Hammond has become disillusioned and walked out.

What kind of environment is this? No manager is going to be able to turn around that huge weight of negativity in a very short space of time.

McDermott is a much more positive human being. He thrives in adversity. He doesn't make excuses like Clarke that there is no money. He can still succeed even when the club are selling his best players. McDermott doesn't find excuses. He succeeds regardless. He will build a highly motivated, tight knit squad who will die for the cause. They will fight for Reading FC next season and for us the fans.

With McDermott there is hope, there is a future. The players will buy in to that.

Clarke just created total negativity. Whinge Whinge.... No money, we can't do anything unless we can sign Beric for however many mililons. He said that we will lose the race when trying to sign players because everyone else has more money than us.... Whinge whinge whinge. Negative bast*rd he is. Great that he's gone.

At the end of the day, Reading's success doesn't only depend on McDermott. He is important, but he is not the only factor. A lot of people and a lot of things need to be right at the club for success to come. But in the current environment, there really is no one else that I would rather have to manage us through this next phase of our history. McDermott is definitely the man for me and he deserves a lot of respect. He is arguably the best manager we have ever had. He could certainly make a strong case for that.

I agree wholeheartedly with your post and just wish others would share your view. I use twitter a lot and there are some real negative idiots on there. Days after the season ending already saying how bad next season will be, and posting team sheets up saying "Look at this team... we are doomed" - yea it's barely even the summer break so just calm down!

I especially like the bits in bold that you said. I agree that Clarke's attitude wasn't great and his comments often were negative. BM is positive, humble, a deep thinker and I really like the way he emphasises the importance of the team being a group of players, close knit and working together.

I feel VERY positive for next year. I am not saying we will get promotion or anything as rash as that, but I do think we will see far better results overall and better performances.

Others just need to stay patient.

[Hoop Blah]

McDermott has undoubtedly proved he can be a successful manager in this division.

Like any manager or player though, it's often a case of being the right man, right place, right time in order to be successful. That means that regardless of his previous success McDermott needs to prove that he's the right man for us next season.

The main reason I was happy with his appointment was that I wanted someone with a bit more loyalty to the club to bring some stability and long term planning back to RFC. Because of that I'm certainly in favour of him getting time to prove he is that right man, and more time than another manager because of his ties to the club.