The Academy/Development squads watch thread 2024/25

[Royals and Racers]

0-3 PEN 68 mins
Basil Tuma here watching.
F-T 0-3 wonder how the academy twitter will report their cock- up !!

[Royals and Racers]

Really disappointing performance from the Royals in their last match of the season. 2nd best from the opening minute especially against a team who only arrived an hour before the start and had been on a coach for hours !. Still hope Carson signs on as i can see a future 1st team player in him. Jack Senga is talented so is Abrefa- the rest nothing to write home about on today`s showing.

[Royals and Racers]

With the PDL regular season completed it’s worth noting that both the U21’s and the U18’s finished in the same position in the South table- 5th out of 10. Coming down from the PL 2 Cat 1 league i would have thought both teams might have been higher in the table chasing the play- off positions. We have seen previously however in the PL cup for the U 21’s that the PDL teams are no mugs so maybe the standard between the PL 2 2nd division and the PDL league isn’t that great.

[Sutekh]

I wish we could tell City where to stick their money!

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... igure-fee/

[Hound]

With the PDL regular season completed it’s worth noting that both the U21’s and the U18’s finished in the same position in the South table- 5th out of 10. Coming down from the PL 2 Cat 1 league i would have thought both teams might have been higher in the table chasing the play- off positions. We have seen previously however in the PL cup for the U 21’s that the PDL teams are no mugs so maybe the standard between the PL 2 2nd division and the PDL league isn’t that great.

Difficult to gauge with unders teams though isn’t it? Had times when we were nicking all the best players for the first team squad, and they are still pretty young for the u21 age group I think

Main judgement is always how many make it through to the first team on merit, and guess we could point to some limited success with Abrefa, Azeez, Ehib and Camara - but would like all of those to really push on next year

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I wish we could tell City where to stick their money!

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... igure-fee/

To be fair, a fee in excess of £1m for a 16 year old is a great bit of business. I don't doubt this will probably be dependent on certain clauses, such as first team appearances, but if we end up with a good sell on clause on there it could benefit us massively in the long run.

Also, whatever City pay up front for him goes straight onto our accounting figures for the season. So the 4 million Euro's for Puscas as well as whatever this will be, say £500k, also contributes as well.

Could be of great benefit to us for this coming season as that's a good amount of money for where we are competing as well. It potentially buys a first team player of good quality at this level, if it was something like £500k that is, but obviously we don't know.

[andrew1957]

Shame to see another young talent move to one of the big boys Academy structures. I cannot help thinking that Fletcher would have been better to stay here and maybe even get some first team experience next season. Cream rises to the top and if he really is that good he would have made it here and then moved on to a bigger club such as Gylfi and Olise or Bellingham at Brum. All of whom were noticed by bigger clubs at a relatively young age.

In a way it shows a lack of faith in him by his parents/advisers, as by taking the big money now being offered by Man City, they most likely reduce his chances of long term success. If he is lucky he will play a lot of U21 football and then be sent on a long series of loans away from Man City to prove himself before he ever gets a look in there and for many young players this stunts their long term development and they end up in the lower leagues. Of course he might be the odd very lucky one who does make it at Man City, but in truth very few players at the big clubs make it all the way from their Academies to regular first team players.

[SCIAG]

In a way it shows a lack of faith in him by his parents/advisers, as by taking the big money now being offered by Man City, they most likely reduce his chances of long term success. If he is lucky he will play a lot of U21 football and then be sent on a long series of loans away from Man City to prove himself before he ever gets a look in there and for many young players this stunts their long term development and they end up in the lower leagues. Of course he might be the odd very lucky one who does make it at Man City, but in truth very few players at the big clubs make it all the way from their Academies to regular first team players.

As discussed a few pages back, I don't think there's any reason to think this reduces his chances of long-term success.

I gave the examples of Jordi Osei-Tutu and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens who left us for big clubs and are now playing in the Bundesliga, while Ollie Pendlebury turned down Chelsea to stay with us and is now playing in non-league.

You could also look at recent Man City academy graduates. Phil Foden is an extreme example, but there's also Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz, Jason Denayer, Ben Mee, Kelechi Iheanacho, Angelino, Tosin Adarabioyo, Joel Latibeaudiere, Tommy Doyle, James McAtee, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Eric Garcia, the Nmechas, the aforementioned Bynoe-Gittens... hard to disentangle cause and effect of course but Man City isn't a graveyard. They produce better players than we do.

If you want to be the best then you have to compete with the best. Backing a player to succeed at Man City is a bigger leap of faith than backing them to succeed in League One. But you don't have to break into Man City's first team to be a successful player.

[Sutekh]

In a way it shows a lack of faith in him by his parents/advisers, as by taking the big money now being offered by Man City, they most likely reduce his chances of long term success. If he is lucky he will play a lot of U21 football and then be sent on a long series of loans away from Man City to prove himself before he ever gets a look in there and for many young players this stunts their long term development and they end up in the lower leagues. Of course he might be the odd very lucky one who does make it at Man City, but in truth very few players at the big clubs make it all the way from their Academies to regular first team players.

As discussed a few pages back, I don't think there's any reason to think this reduces his chances of long-term success.

I gave the examples of Jordi Osei-Tutu and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens who left us for big clubs and are now playing in the Bundesliga, while Ollie Pendlebury turned down Chelsea to stay with us and is now playing in non-league.

You could also look at recent Man City academy graduates. Phil Foden is an extreme example, but there's also Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz, Jason Denayer, Ben Mee, Kelechi Iheanacho, Angelino, Tosin Adarabioyo, Joel Latibeaudiere, Tommy Doyle, James McAtee, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Eric Garcia, the Nmechas, the aforementioned Bynoe-Gittens... hard to disentangle cause and effect of course but Man City isn't a graveyard. They produce better players than we do.

If you want to be the best then you have to compete with the best. Backing a player to succeed at Man City is a bigger leap of faith than backing them to succeed in League One. But you don't have to break into Man City's first team to be a successful player.

Or even Reading's: Charlie Austin

[Vision]

In a way it shows a lack of faith in him by his parents/advisers, as by taking the big money now being offered by Man City, they most likely reduce his chances of long term success. If he is lucky he will play a lot of U21 football and then be sent on a long series of loans away from Man City to prove himself before he ever gets a look in there and for many young players this stunts their long term development and they end up in the lower leagues. Of course he might be the odd very lucky one who does make it at Man City, but in truth very few players at the big clubs make it all the way from their Academies to regular first team players.

As discussed a few pages back, I don't think there's any reason to think this reduces his chances of long-term success.

I gave the examples of Jordi Osei-Tutu and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens who left us for big clubs and are now playing in the Bundesliga, while Ollie Pendlebury turned down Chelsea to stay with us and is now playing in non-league.

You could also look at recent Man City academy graduates. Phil Foden is an extreme example, but there's also Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz, Jason Denayer, Ben Mee, Kelechi Iheanacho, Angelino, Tosin Adarabioyo, Joel Latibeaudiere, Tommy Doyle, James McAtee, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Eric Garcia, the Nmechas, the aforementioned Bynoe-Gittens... hard to disentangle cause and effect of course but Man City isn't a graveyard. They produce better players than we do.

If you want to be the best then you have to compete with the best. Backing a player to succeed at Man City is a bigger leap of faith than backing them to succeed in League One. But you don't have to break into Man City's first team to be a successful player.

Also your Bellinghams and Gylfis etc were playing regular 1st team football at a young age.

One of the many piss poor things about this past season was that when we were supposedly so desperate for players we were begging for scraps according to some , not a single academy player got any sort of a look in . We know nothing more about the two Kelvins , Camara or even Azeez than we did at the start of the season.

If you’re Luca Fletcher (and his advisors/parents) looking at that and knowing that the likes of Omar Richards & Loader ( and to a lesser extent Olise ) were somewhat stifled by the guy is the current DOF you would understandably think twice.

We congratulate ourselves so much every time a player makes a ten minute cameo but the real test us are they trusted week in week out. Our whole ethos last season was experience first and academy players were just “kids”. If that attitude prevails then we can hardly blame our best youngsters for looking elsewhere.

[SCIAG]

In a way it shows a lack of faith in him by his parents/advisers, as by taking the big money now being offered by Man City, they most likely reduce his chances of long term success. If he is lucky he will play a lot of U21 football and then be sent on a long series of loans away from Man City to prove himself before he ever gets a look in there and for many young players this stunts their long term development and they end up in the lower leagues. Of course he might be the odd very lucky one who does make it at Man City, but in truth very few players at the big clubs make it all the way from their Academies to regular first team players.

As discussed a few pages back, I don't think there's any reason to think this reduces his chances of long-term success.

I gave the examples of Jordi Osei-Tutu and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens who left us for big clubs and are now playing in the Bundesliga, while Ollie Pendlebury turned down Chelsea to stay with us and is now playing in non-league.

You could also look at recent Man City academy graduates. Phil Foden is an extreme example, but there's also Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz, Jason Denayer, Ben Mee, Kelechi Iheanacho, Angelino, Tosin Adarabioyo, Joel Latibeaudiere, Tommy Doyle, James McAtee, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Eric Garcia, the Nmechas, the aforementioned Bynoe-Gittens... hard to disentangle cause and effect of course but Man City isn't a graveyard. They produce better players than we do.

If you want to be the best then you have to compete with the best. Backing a player to succeed at Man City is a bigger leap of faith than backing them to succeed in League One. But you don't have to break into Man City's first team to be a successful player.

Also your Bellinghams and Gylfis etc were playing regular 1st team football at a young age.

One of the many piss poor things about this past season was that when we were supposedly so desperate for players we were begging for scraps according to some , not a single academy player got any sort of a look in . We know nothing more about the two Kelvins , Camara or even Azeez than we did at the start of the season.

If you’re Luca Fletcher (and his advisors/parents) looking at that and knowing that the likes of Omar Richards & Loader ( and to a lesser extent Olise ) were somewhat stifled by the guy is the current DOF you would understandably think twice.

We congratulate ourselves so much every time a player makes a ten minute cameo but the real test us are they trusted week in week out. Our whole ethos last season was experience first and academy players were just “kids”. If that attitude prevails then we can hardly blame our best youngsters for looking elsewhere.

In fairness to Ince I think this current crop are the least impressive youngsters we have had for at least a decade. My memory for these things isn’t as good as it used to be but I think Camara was injured for part of the season. I agree that he and Abrefa should probably have got more game time than they did.

[Snowflake Royal]

I'd argue Loader got more pitch time than his performances warranted. Very disappointing for someone with such pedigree.

And Bowen gave Richards as much if not more game time than anyone prior to him, and chose to keep him over Obita or Blackett, clearly setting him out as first choice for the next season.


We definitely don't use youth enough, but hopefully that will change and we'll see 10+ starts for multiple academy players next season, like Abrefa, Kelvin E, Camara, Azeez. And close todouble figure appearances for some of those a little further behind like Abbey, Clarke, Craig, Dorsett etc

I think you generally want to ease them in gently. A few cameos one season, followed by a couple of starts and some subs to get up to 10+ appearances the next, then 10+ starts...

Anyone who excels can get more, gives them time to develop into it, and anyone who really struggles takes a break and hopefully comes back improved later or gets a loan.

[Vision]

I'd argue Loader got more pitch time than his performances warranted. Very disappointing for someone with such pedigree.

And Bowen gave Richards as much if not more game time than anyone prior to him, and chose to keep him over Obita or Blackett, clearly setting him out as first choice for the next season.


We definitely don't use youth enough, but hopefully that will change and we'll see 10+ starts for multiple academy players next season, like Abrefa, Kelvin E, Camara, Azeez. And close todouble figure appearances for some of those a little further behind like Abbey, Clarke, Craig, Dorsett etc

I think you generally want to ease them in gently. A few cameos one season, followed by a couple of starts and some subs to get up to 10+ appearances the next, then 10+ starts...

Anyone who excels can get more, gives them time to develop into it, and anyone who really struggles takes a break and hopefully comes back improved later or gets a loan.

Loader looked perfectly fine when played as a foil off of Oliveira. We failed to sign Oliveira in pre season then after a couple of games came the big splurge on Joao, Puscas, Boye etc and Loader was struggling to get a look in. Which of course makes Dai's decision to block his move to Wolves even more baffling.

As for Richards, he played every game for Gomes but was instantly dropped the moment Bowen took over. It may have transpired he'd have got regular starts under Bowen the following season but by no means assured. It's also unlikely he'd have blossomed as he did under Pauno. I'd also argue that the reason he ended up leaving for free was because he knew Bowen didn't rate him and Bowen wasn't sure of him enough to try to convince him otherwise.

[Snowflake Royal]

I'd argue Loader got more pitch time than his performances warranted. Very disappointing for someone with such pedigree.

And Bowen gave Richards as much if not more game time than anyone prior to him, and chose to keep him over Obita or Blackett, clearly setting him out as first choice for the next season.


We definitely don't use youth enough, but hopefully that will change and we'll see 10+ starts for multiple academy players next season, like Abrefa, Kelvin E, Camara, Azeez. And close todouble figure appearances for some of those a little further behind like Abbey, Clarke, Craig, Dorsett etc

I think you generally want to ease them in gently. A few cameos one season, followed by a couple of starts and some subs to get up to 10+ appearances the next, then 10+ starts...

Anyone who excels can get more, gives them time to develop into it, and anyone who really struggles takes a break and hopefully comes back improved later or gets a loan.

Loader looked perfectly fine when played as a foil off of Oliveira. We failed to sign Oliveira in pre season then after a couple of games came the big splurge on Joao, Puscas, Boye etc and Loader was struggling to get a look in. Which of course makes Dai's decision to block his move to Wolves even more baffling.

As for Richards, he played every game for Gomes but was instantly dropped the moment Bowen took over. It may have transpired he'd have got regular starts under Bowen the following season but by no means assured. It's also unlikely he'd have blossomed as he did under Pauno. I'd also argue that the reason he ended up leaving for free was because he knew Bowen didn't rate him and Bowen wasn't sure of him enough to try to convince him otherwise.

Loader got 12 appearances, and 8 of them came under Bowen. Boye only started 5 games.

Richards started on 22 October, 9 November and 23 November, so three of Bowen's first 5 games in charge. The bit about leaving for free makes no sense seeing as Richards left while Paunovic was here and Bowen wasn't. Unless you're mixing up your paragraphs and went back to Loader.

[URZZZZ]

I'd argue Loader got more pitch time than his performances warranted. Very disappointing for someone with such pedigree.

And Bowen gave Richards as much if not more game time than anyone prior to him, and chose to keep him over Obita or Blackett, clearly setting him out as first choice for the next season.


We definitely don't use youth enough, but hopefully that will change and we'll see 10+ starts for multiple academy players next season, like Abrefa, Kelvin E, Camara, Azeez. And close todouble figure appearances for some of those a little further behind like Abbey, Clarke, Craig, Dorsett etc

I think you generally want to ease them in gently. A few cameos one season, followed by a couple of starts and some subs to get up to 10+ appearances the next, then 10+ starts...

Anyone who excels can get more, gives them time to develop into it, and anyone who really struggles takes a break and hopefully comes back improved later or gets a loan.

Loader looked perfectly fine when played as a foil off of Oliveira. We failed to sign Oliveira in pre season then after a couple of games came the big splurge on Joao, Puscas, Boye etc and Loader was struggling to get a look in. Which of course makes Dai's decision to block his move to Wolves even more baffling.

As for Richards, he played every game for Gomes but was instantly dropped the moment Bowen took over. It may have transpired he'd have got regular starts under Bowen the following season but by no means assured. It's also unlikely he'd have blossomed as he did under Pauno. I'd also argue that the reason he ended up leaving for free was because he knew Bowen didn't rate him and Bowen wasn't sure of him enough to try to convince him otherwise.

Loader got 12 appearances, and 8 of them came under Bowen. Boye only started 5 games.

Richards started on 22 October, 9 November and 23 November, so three of Bowen's first 5 games in charge. The bit about leaving for free makes no sense seeing as Richards left while Paunovic was here and Bowen wasn't. Unless you're mixing up your paragraphs and went back to Loader.

Also not fully true either as Gomes dropped Richards like a stone as soon as Obita came back into full fitness. Blackburn H game (which was an abysmal performance). Possible PR stunt? Will never know but was a really poor call as Richards had started the season promisingly and Obita looked so far off the pace of the game upon his return

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I was also rather disappointed by Loader given the hype around him. I'm not sure the management side helped him but I'm also not sure if he ever really had a defined position for us? He was coming through the ranks as a CF, then as an inside forward on the left or a number 10 etc. Not enough continuity and he didn't show enough for me. It was a shame to lose him for nothing though.

Richards certainly stepped up during (the first half, at least, of) Pauno's first season. The one thing I will give Pauno is he would put faith in the younger players, possibly something we could have used to better effect this season. Richards never really nailed down a consistent place under any of the previous managers whilst he was with us.

[Vision]

I'd argue Loader got more pitch time than his performances warranted. Very disappointing for someone with such pedigree.

And Bowen gave Richards as much if not more game time than anyone prior to him, and chose to keep him over Obita or Blackett, clearly setting him out as first choice for the next season.


We definitely don't use youth enough, but hopefully that will change and we'll see 10+ starts for multiple academy players next season, like Abrefa, Kelvin E, Camara, Azeez. And close todouble figure appearances for some of those a little further behind like Abbey, Clarke, Craig, Dorsett etc

I think you generally want to ease them in gently. A few cameos one season, followed by a couple of starts and some subs to get up to 10+ appearances the next, then 10+ starts...

Anyone who excels can get more, gives them time to develop into it, and anyone who really struggles takes a break and hopefully comes back improved later or gets a loan.

Loader looked perfectly fine when played as a foil off of Oliveira. We failed to sign Oliveira in pre season then after a couple of games came the big splurge on Joao, Puscas, Boye etc and Loader was struggling to get a look in. Which of course makes Dai's decision to block his move to Wolves even more baffling.

As for Richards, he played every game for Gomes but was instantly dropped the moment Bowen took over. It may have transpired he'd have got regular starts under Bowen the following season but by no means assured. It's also unlikely he'd have blossomed as he did under Pauno. I'd also argue that the reason he ended up leaving for free was because he knew Bowen didn't rate him and Bowen wasn't sure of him enough to try to convince him otherwise.

Loader got 12 appearances, and 8 of them came under Bowen. Boye only started 5 games.

Richards started on 22 October, 9 November and 23 November, so three of Bowen's first 5 games in charge. The bit about leaving for free makes no sense seeing as Richards left while Paunovic was here and Bowen wasn't. Unless you're mixing up your paragraphs and went back to Loader.

Loader's 12 appearances included 1 League start before Puscas, Joao and Boye were signed. He never started a single League game after that splurge or after Bowen took over. 5 of those 12 appearances you mention were in the cup and the remaining ones combined a total of 43 minutes (20 of those came in Bowen's first home game against Preston which we won while he was on the field) playing time over 7 games mostly as a late time wasting substitute .

If we're comparing just by using your "Appearance" metric, Boye made 24 appearances in total that season. We can argue the "wheres and whys" but it's patently obvious that Loader did not get the pitch time (post Puscas etc) to progress as his pedigree would suggest he might. Of course there may have been other reasons, he may have been shit in training but whatever the reason he just didn't get on the pitch enough.


The time for the Richards contract to be renewed was before Pauno's season started. Once Richards got noticed due to his performances that season he was never going to sign with less than a year left and bigger clubs sniffing around.

And after that game in late November he didn't start another League game until Sheffield Wednesday on February 15th.

I vividly remember a game away at Derby County early after the Covid break where he had, in my opinion, his best game for us but was substituted and dropped from the next game. It may be that my opinion is skewed by that recollection and it was probably a fair enough decision since we beat Luton 5-0 lol. I suspect that Bowen had probably made the decision to rotate his squad for those final post covid games anyway and that the team selections were to some degree pre-chosen.

However it still goes back to my feeling that there was not enough faith shown in him, for him to sign any new deal at this stage. By the time he developed into a good player (or a manager cottoned on to how good he could be if used correctly) it was too late.

[Hound]

Do generally feel Richards was only actually any good for us in that aug-dec of the Pauno season.

He had the odd good game elsewhere but plenty of bad to average ones

Loader was poor on the pitch for us. Obvs there was some potential and maybe the expectation was too much but he just didn’t appear to have anything much about him

I can see why both weren’t regularly played

[Snowflake Royal]

Loader looked perfectly fine when played as a foil off of Oliveira. We failed to sign Oliveira in pre season then after a couple of games came the big splurge on Joao, Puscas, Boye etc and Loader was struggling to get a look in. Which of course makes Dai's decision to block his move to Wolves even more baffling.

As for Richards, he played every game for Gomes but was instantly dropped the moment Bowen took over. It may have transpired he'd have got regular starts under Bowen the following season but by no means assured. It's also unlikely he'd have blossomed as he did under Pauno. I'd also argue that the reason he ended up leaving for free was because he knew Bowen didn't rate him and Bowen wasn't sure of him enough to try to convince him otherwise.

Loader got 12 appearances, and 8 of them came under Bowen. Boye only started 5 games.

Richards started on 22 October, 9 November and 23 November, so three of Bowen's first 5 games in charge. The bit about leaving for free makes no sense seeing as Richards left while Paunovic was here and Bowen wasn't. Unless you're mixing up your paragraphs and went back to Loader.

Loader's 12 appearances included 1 League start before Puscas, Joao and Boye were signed. He never started a single League game after that splurge or after Bowen took over. 5 of those 12 appearances you mention were in the cup and the remaining ones combined a total of 43 minutes (20 of those came in Bowen's first home game against Preston which we won while he was on the field) playing time over 7 games mostly as a late time wasting substitute .

If we're comparing just by using your "Appearance" metric, Boye made 24 appearances in total that season. We can argue the "wheres and whys" but it's patently obvious that Loader did not get the pitch time (post Puscas etc) to progress as his pedigree would suggest he might. Of course there may have been other reasons, he may have been shit in training but whatever the reason he just didn't get on the pitch enough.


The time for the Richards contract to be renewed was before Pauno's season started. Once Richards got noticed due to his performances that season he was never going to sign with less than a year left and bigger clubs sniffing around.

And after that game in late November he didn't start another League game until Sheffield Wednesday on February 15th.

I vividly remember a game away at Derby County early after the Covid break where he had, in my opinion, his best game for us but was substituted and dropped from the next game. It may be that my opinion is skewed by that recollection and it was probably a fair enough decision since we beat Luton 5-0 lol. I suspect that Bowen had probably made the decision to rotate his squad for those final post covid games anyway and that the team selections were to some degree pre-chosen.

However it still goes back to my feeling that there was not enough faith shown in him, for him to sign any new deal at this stage. By the time he developed into a good player (or a manager cottoned on to how good he could be if used correctly) it was too late.

You can keep changing your story to fit your narrative all you want, but Loader under performed in his pitch time and didn't deserve more. And Richards in no way stood out from the alternatives until Pauno, when there were none, and was objectively not 'immediately dropped' by Bowen as you claimed.

[Sutekh]

Loader got 12 appearances, and 8 of them came under Bowen. Boye only started 5 games.

Richards started on 22 October, 9 November and 23 November, so three of Bowen's first 5 games in charge. The bit about leaving for free makes no sense seeing as Richards left while Paunovic was here and Bowen wasn't. Unless you're mixing up your paragraphs and went back to Loader.

Loader's 12 appearances included 1 League start before Puscas, Joao and Boye were signed. He never started a single League game after that splurge or after Bowen took over. 5 of those 12 appearances you mention were in the cup and the remaining ones combined a total of 43 minutes (20 of those came in Bowen's first home game against Preston which we won while he was on the field) playing time over 7 games mostly as a late time wasting substitute .

If we're comparing just by using your "Appearance" metric, Boye made 24 appearances in total that season. We can argue the "wheres and whys" but it's patently obvious that Loader did not get the pitch time (post Puscas etc) to progress as his pedigree would suggest he might. Of course there may have been other reasons, he may have been shit in training but whatever the reason he just didn't get on the pitch enough.


The time for the Richards contract to be renewed was before Pauno's season started. Once Richards got noticed due to his performances that season he was never going to sign with less than a year left and bigger clubs sniffing around.

And after that game in late November he didn't start another League game until Sheffield Wednesday on February 15th.

I vividly remember a game away at Derby County early after the Covid break where he had, in my opinion, his best game for us but was substituted and dropped from the next game. It may be that my opinion is skewed by that recollection and it was probably a fair enough decision since we beat Luton 5-0 lol. I suspect that Bowen had probably made the decision to rotate his squad for those final post covid games anyway and that the team selections were to some degree pre-chosen.

However it still goes back to my feeling that there was not enough faith shown in him, for him to sign any new deal at this stage. By the time he developed into a good player (or a manager cottoned on to how good he could be if used correctly) it was too late.

You can keep changing your story to fit your narrative all you want, but Loader under performed in his pitch time and didn't deserve more. And Richards in no way stood out from the alternatives until Pauno, when there were none, and was objectively not 'immediately dropped' by Bowen as you claimed.

This. No-one seemed to know the best place to play Loader (don't think the player himself was to sure either) and he was generally disappointing given the hype that followed him. Hope he comes good at Porto but think the time he got a Reading was probably about right.