Selles In

[Stranded]

Snippet from Wikipedia entry for 2011-12 season - Despite a poor start, which saw them 23rd in the table at one point, Reading went on to win 17 of 23 games in the second half of the season, securing the Championship title and ensuring promotion back to the Premier League. McDermott was named the LMA Championship Manager of the Season for the achievement.

Perhaps 2023-24 will follow a similar path?

The better potential parallel is 1999/00 - after 26 games, we were 23rd - having only won 4 games and failed to win since a 2-1 win at Oldham on 23rd October - 13 games. On the 29th Jan, we beat Colchester 2-0 to end that run and finished the season with a run of

P20 W12 D4 L4

to finish 12th.

No guarantee history repeats but we have been here before.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Hmm - Not sure we were 23rd this far into the season in 2011/2012!

Yeah, I think it was more after 5 - 8 games max.

After 18 games, 26th November 2011:

13th P18 / W6 / D6 / L6 / GF20 / GA19 / Pts 24 - 11 above relegation, 5 off the Play-offs, 13 off 2nd and 15 off top

After 18 games, 29th November 2023:

23rd P18 / W5 / D2 / L11 / GF22 / GA30 Pts 13* - 5 from safety, 20 off the play offs, 26 off 2nd and 1st

We finished on 89, so got 65 from the remaining 28 which is frankly absurd. A similar finish this season would have us on 78 points, so sneaking into play offs unless unlucky.

[Stranded]

Yeah, I think it was more after 5 - 8 games max.

After 18 games, 26th November 2011:

13th P18 / W6 / D6 / L6 / GF20 / GA19 / Pts 24 - 11 above relegation, 5 off the Play-offs, 13 off 2nd and 15 off top

After 18 games, 29th November 2023:

23rd P18 / W5 / D2 / L11 / GF22 / GA30 Pts 13* - 5 from safety, 20 off the play offs, 26 off 2nd and 1st

We finished on 89, so got 65 from the remaining 28 which is frankly absurd. A similar finish this season would have us on 78 points, so sneaking into play offs unless unlucky.

Yeah from game 19 onwards in 2011-12 we won 21, drew 2 and lost 5 including one run of 8 straight wins and another of 6.

In fact after a 1-0 home defeat to Hull on 21st Jan 2012, we only dropped 5 points up the game against Forest that confirmed promotion a run of 46pts out of a possible 51 - W15 D1 L1 - just madness.

For comparison, the best the 05/06 side did over a 17 game period was W15 D2.

[Snowflake Royal]

Snippet from Wikipedia entry for 2011-12 season - Despite a poor start, which saw them 23rd in the table at one point, Reading went on to win 17 of 23 games in the second half of the season, securing the Championship title and ensuring promotion back to the Premier League. McDermott was named the LMA Championship Manager of the Season for the achievement.

Perhaps 2023-24 will follow a similar path?

The better potential parallel is 1999/00 - after 26 games, we were 23rd - having only won 4 games and failed to win since a 2-1 win at Oldham on 23rd October - 13 games. On the 29th Jan, we beat Colchester 2-0 to end that run and finished the season with a run of

P20 W12 D4 L4

to finish 12th.

No guarantee history repeats but we have been here before.

2009/10 must be fairly similar too... that was the Rodgers season wasn’t it?

[Silver Fox]

Not 23rd and not Reading but we played Palace on 20/12/03 when they were 21st, they beat us 3-0 and would end the season by winning the playoffs

[WestYorksRoyal]

The 99/00 is a good comparison, as the building blocks were there for what we went on to achieve. Our final game that season involved Murty, Williams, Igoe, Newman, Caskey, Forster and Henderson all of whom would go on to play varying roles in our subsequent success. I think Butler was around too but didn't play that day. And then of course we added Cureton and Harper the next season plus Shorey in our U21s.

The blueprint is there.

[Stranded]

Snippet from Wikipedia entry for 2011-12 season - Despite a poor start, which saw them 23rd in the table at one point, Reading went on to win 17 of 23 games in the second half of the season, securing the Championship title and ensuring promotion back to the Premier League. McDermott was named the LMA Championship Manager of the Season for the achievement.

Perhaps 2023-24 will follow a similar path?

The better potential parallel is 1999/00 - after 26 games, we were 23rd - having only won 4 games and failed to win since a 2-1 win at Oldham on 23rd October - 13 games. On the 29th Jan, we beat Colchester 2-0 to end that run and finished the season with a run of

P20 W12 D4 L4

to finish 12th.

No guarantee history repeats but we have been here before.

2009/10 must be fairly similar too... that was the Rodgers season wasn’t it?

Yep - we were 23rd after 26 games then went P20 W12 D4 L4 again to finish 9th.

So we really do have a history of hitting some excellent form in the second half of seasons to either pull away from relegation or storm to a title.

In 99/00, Alan Pardew took over from Tommy Burns on 13th September following a 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth. His record is his first 20 league games in charge was P20 W3 D9 L8 Pts 18. Including that 13 game run without a win. Then it clicked,

During that run, not sure many of us saw Pardew as being the manager to take us out of the division and into the Championship play-offs but he was.

Typo in my last post we finished 10th in 99/00.

[Clyde1998]

Snippet from Wikipedia entry for 2011-12 season - Despite a poor start, which saw them 23rd in the table at one point, Reading went on to win 17 of 23 games in the second half of the season, securing the Championship title and ensuring promotion back to the Premier League. McDermott was named the LMA Championship Manager of the Season for the achievement.

Perhaps 2023-24 will follow a similar path?

The better potential parallel is 1999/00 - after 26 games, we were 23rd - having only won 4 games and failed to win since a 2-1 win at Oldham on 23rd October - 13 games. On the 29th Jan, we beat Colchester 2-0 to end that run and finished the season with a run of

P20 W12 D4 L4

to finish 12th.

No guarantee history repeats but we have been here before.

2009/10 must be fairly similar too... that was the Rodgers season wasn’t it?

That 2009-10 season has another parallel with that season being the one where a lot of academy players broke through and becoming first team regulars: Simon Church, Hal Robson-Kanu, Jem Karacan, Alex Pearce, Gylfi Sigurdsson. It helped set the foundations for the next couple of seasons.

[shadesrwrf]

[leon]

indeed. Not necessarily a summer but a pretty good night out.

[blythspartan]

Even before the recent couple of wins I have questioned myself about whether I was fair to judge Selles after 14 or so games. I had written him off as our worse ever manager, but he’s had to deal with all of the issues behind the scenes along with a very new/young squad of players. Also, he’s still very much learning himself.

I would rather someone like Wilder, but if we’re out of the bottom 4 by the time we face Exeter he’d deserve to be given a chance for the rest of the season. However, realistically I can’t see that happening.

I will always remember Sir Alex almost losing his job until the FA cup game against Forest. Also, Howard Kendall almost lost his Everton job until a cup replay away at Oxford.

[Snowflake Royal]

The better potential parallel is 1999/00 - after 26 games, we were 23rd - having only won 4 games and failed to win since a 2-1 win at Oldham on 23rd October - 13 games. On the 29th Jan, we beat Colchester 2-0 to end that run and finished the season with a run of

P20 W12 D4 L4

to finish 12th.

No guarantee history repeats but we have been here before.

2009/10 must be fairly similar too... that was the Rodgers season wasn’t it?

That 2009-10 season has another parallel with that season being the one where a lot of academy players broke through and becoming first team regulars: Simon Church, Hal Robson-Kanu, Jem Karacan, Alex Pearce, Gylfi Sigurdsson. It helped set the foundations for the next couple of seasons.

And absolutely abominable management.

[shadesrwrf]

indeed. Not necessarily a summer but a pretty good night out.

[Millsy]

Excellent win for Selles. Last time I felt like this was when Bullivant's team won 4-0.

Seriously though, pleased for the team and for the guy. We're all rightly desperately hoping he's the next Fergie, as much we also desperately hope to win the lottery, mind.

[St Pauli]

Let’s not be hasty.

This is not the time for knee jerk decisions.

[St Pauli]

Brought back from the brink!

Great substitution, penalties here we come!

[St Pauli]

Another great win after Reading put 5 past Charlton!

[Lower West]

Even before the recent couple of wins I have questioned myself about whether I was fair to judge Selles after 14 or so games. I had written him off as our worse ever manager, but he’s had to deal with all of the issues behind the scenes along with a very new/young squad of players. Also, he’s still very much learning himself.

I would rather someone like Wilder, but if we’re out of the bottom 4 by the time we face Exeter he’d deserve to be given a chance for the rest of the season. However, realistically I can’t see that happening.

I will always remember Sir Alex almost losing his job until the FA cup game against Forest. Also, Howard Kendall almost lost his Everton job until a cup replay away at Oxford.

Who remembers the Terry Venables era at Crystal Palace? A team of kids that rose through 2 divisions.

[Snowflake Royal]

It may be a controvertial opinion, and I'm not saying sacking him was the wrong call at all, but in retrospect I think Ince would have done a better job in L1 than Selles under the same circumstances. Even though he was very poor in the Champ and ignored and belittled our youth.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

It may be a controvertial opinion, and I'm not saying sacking him was the wrong call at all, but in retrospect I think Ince would have done a better job in L1 than Selles under the same circumstances. Even though he was very poor in the Champ and ignored and belittled our youth.

No in fairness I can see the logic in that to a degree. I think Ince worked with what he did last season. I don't think he necessarily wanted to play the way he did last season, I think it was the situation and the players around him that forced his hand a bit.

Ok, not a great deal more flexibility this season, but if he could have built on the foundations we wanted to set and showed at the start of last season, maybe he could have pulled in a couple of battle-hardened, experience pros for the spine of the team for example, then we maybe could have done a bit better.

It depends if he'd have trusted a couple of the academy/young players this season. Of course we are talking hypothetically, so who knows where we would have been under Ince. We could have still been 23rd and not using them as per last season.