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

[sandman]

Also Huddersfield should have been out of site and the red card massively changed the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfwQUXqlBhA

[Lower West]

Also Huddersfield should have been out of site and the red card massively changed the game.

Saturday MK should have been down to 10.

That's football. Cruciak decisions change games.

A great free kick though from Piazon. .

[Longhorn1970]

Steve Clarke didn't need a replay against Huddersfield in the cup last season.

Good point well made ..

[Longhorn1970]

Steve Clarke didn't need a replay against Huddersfield in the cup last season.

But we did we need a replay against Bradford. Chelsea on the other hand, didn't.

Did you see the state of their pitch (I think they had people walk their dogs on it for a week before) ..

[Longhorn1970]

I would sum up last night's match with the phrase - We got away with murder, up until the red card no one looked interested in the game at all. If that red card doesn't happen, Huddersfield are out of sight without a doubt.

Mcds teams have always been built with the main foundation of working hard fighting for everything.

Very much still a work in progress although Vydra is starting to step up for us at last.

I dnt think we can read too much into it, we didn't look very good 11 v 11 but it's a funny ol' game ..

[BonBoh]

Steve Clarke didn't need a replay against Huddersfield in the cup last season.

Good point well made ..

Yes, but he was playing with Nigel Adkins's team back then. This is the team that SC put together but Brian McD got to face them.
You cannot compare then and now just like that.

[Ian Royal]

Also Huddersfield should have been out of site and the red card massively changed the game.

Personally I think Huddersfield should've been more than out of sight within the first 25 minutes. 4-0 really wouldn't have flattered them.

The red card was pretty much nailed on, just like the one in the original game which thankfully we were good enough to not lose despite a referee making an error. That's possibly the sign of a good team isn't it? Good sides don't lose games on the whim of refereeing mistakes.

Ouch.

[Longhorn1970]

Steve Clarke didn't need a replay against Huddersfield in the cup last season.

Good point well made ..

Yes, but he was playing with Nigel Adkins's team back then. This is the team that SC put together but Brian McD got to face them.
You cannot compare then and now just like that.

We are better now than then ?

[AthleticoSpizz]

+ an ouchie

Think you might just be trying to get a reaction out of Chelseas Reading fan tho' Hoopas

[Y21]

How many game does a manager get in pre-season to decide on his best team? BM hasn't had that, so is trying to figure his best team out in the spotlight of the league and cup games. I dare say as we progress through the rest of the season we'll see a more settled side, and probably one that will win more than it loses if the players are as good as we keep being told they are.

[RG7Fan]

We are better now than then ?

On paper we have a better squad.

Yak or Vydra?

[KC Royal]

Early days, was going to wait until the end of the month to pass an initial judgement, but i'm certainly not disappointed so far.

[Victor Meldrew]

Early days but I don't see too much difference from what we have been watching for the past 3 years or so with the build-up play yesterday so painfully slow which is not like Brian of old.
I suppose these are not his players so it is difficult to make a judgement but he has time on his side with the league a write-off but the chance to have a bit of fun in the FA Cup.

I know it is after the event but I would have thought he would have started with the experienced Yann up front and given the young lad time to get to know those around him before throwing him into a crowded midfield.

I do hope there is still more of a clear-out this week with one or two more that Brian is aware of coming in to add to a build for next season.
With relegation not a prospect I would like to see the soon-to-be out of contract Kanu and Gunter go now as we might get a few quid because of their international credentials and for us to bring in a steady right-back ( I do like Jordan Clarke at Scunthorpe) plus a speedy orthodox winger (with McCleary seemingly more injury-prone and Hurtado miles away from consideration) especially as Brian prefers playing with 2 wingers.

Next season will be Brian's judgement time and I think the fans will give him time because of the cred earned previously.

[Hampshire Royal]

Just out of interest, why do you call Robson-Kanu 'Kanu'. It's part of his name, for sure, but it's not his name. Seems a bit disrespectful, if you ask me.

I thought he played really well yesterday, and was part of the reason why we had a good second-half against a good team.

[WAZZOCK]

Just out of interest, why do you call Robson-Kanu 'Kanu'. It's part of his name, for sure, but it's not his name. Seems a bit disrespectful, if you ask me.

I thought he played really well yesterday, and was part of the reason why we had a good second-half against a good team.

Alright, keep your pants on Royal.

[Thou Voice]

Next season will be Brian's judgement time and I think the fans will give him time because of the cred earned previously.

...I assume you are speaking about the fall from the Premiership yes ???

I am stunned that people at RFC treat failure as a success - we are the only team that celebrated the return of a man that had been sacked from his past two posts three times ( twice at Leeds ) and clearly decided that he was not cut out to be a manager and went back to what he could do, scouting.

We then end up crap street by kicking out Mr Clarke as he simply wanted to better his chances and decide to employee an ex-manager who we had previously sacked.

This is not progress as the results have shown - this is treading water - badly.

Lets talk REAL FACTS HERE out if a possible 21 points our new saviour has only secured 8.

Is this what we should be proud of as Reading fans ?

Do You See ?

[Lower West]

I know it is after the event but I would have thought he would have started with the experienced Yann up front and given the young lad time to get to know those around him before throwing him into a crowded midfield.

Who do you think should have played?

[Longhorn1970]

Next season will be Brian's judgement time and I think the fans will give him time because of the cred earned previously.

...I assume you are speaking about the fall from the Premiership yes ???

I am stunned that people at RFC treat failure as a success - we are the only team that celebrated the return of a man that had been sacked from his past two posts three times ( twice at Leeds ) and clearly decided that he was not cut out to be a manager and went back to what he could do, scouting.

We then end up crap street by kicking out Mr Clarke as he simply wanted to better his chances and decide to employee an ex-manager who we had previously sacked.

This is not progress as the results have shown - this is treading water - badly.

Lets talk REAL FACTS HERE out if a possible 21 points our new saviour has only secured 8.

Is this what we should be proud of as Reading fans ?

Do You See ?

Let's not forget it was the board who allowed Fulham to approach SC, prob unhappy with a dip in form and saw it as a means to make another £1m in comp which back fired.
when you consider who was available at the time, BM was a strange appointment but I'm guessing we wouldn't meet others wage demands and there will be clauses galore in his contract to save anymore blushes ... 8 from 21 is crap, I'm not sure what the answer is but we are only talking fine margins in most games, although we don't help ourselves by conceding soft goals and showing a worrying predictability which oppo seem to exploit at leisure ..

[Pepe the Horseman]

I think you have to really scramble around for stats to suggest we've improved since McD. But the hope is there because its still early days with him, where as with Clarke we had been chugging along at this pace for too long.

It's also important to remember we didn't just boot out Clarke because of results. He'd gone to speak to someone else. Most people feel this made his position untenable with the owners, the players and the fans.

You feel we have shown some promise here and there. And you have to give McD lots more games before we start calling him a lost cause.

[Ian Royal]

I think you have to really scramble around for stats to suggest we've improved since McD. But the hope is there because its still early days with him, where as with Clarke we had been chugging along at this pace for too long.

It's also important to remember we didn't just boot out Clarke because of results. He'd gone to speak to someone else. Most people feel this made his position untenable with the owners, the players and the fans.

You feel we have shown some promise here and there. And you have to give McD lots more games before we start calling him a lost cause.

It depends what you look at. Clarke's entire time at the club, Clarke's games this season, or Clarke's performance from the point it all started going wrong. I'd call that Charlton or so. Certainly not long after we beat Middlesbrough. With that last one, then we have improved, if not a great deal in results. Of course as you say, the thing to remember is it's still fairly early days and McDermott hasn't really had enough time to show serious long term improvement, rather than just a morale based short-term boost.

Clarke
P 9, W 2, D 3, L 4, F 10 (1.1 pg), A 15 (1.7 pg), Goal differential -0.6 pg, Pts 9 (1 pg), W 22%

McDermott
P 7, W 2, D 2, L 3, F 5 (0.7 pg), A 6 (0.9 pg), Goal differential -0.2 pg, Pts 8 (1.1 pg), W 29%

So McDermott's doing a little better, and a win in the next game boosts things considerably, even just one draw in the next two games and he's doing no worse than Clarke was. He's taken steps to address the goal drought, and he's almost halved the number of goals we're conceding, which is a start and a platform to build on.

And of course, if you look at rolling averages of x games across Clarke's last games, the trend is very clearly down, while McDermott simply hasn't been here long enough to use them. But positionally, we're maintaining around the 11th - 14th position, whereas under Clarke we plummeted from 2/3 to 9th.

Obviously if you add in cup games then McDermott's certainly doing better and the goal issue is improved too. But those are clearly a very different animal.

Thinking about it, this is probably what qualifies as a bit of a scramble.