Strangely optimistic about next season.

[CountryRoyal]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say we are going to do well next season, based purely on the fact that there is zero expectation and optimism.

[Ian Royal]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say we are going to do well next season, based purely on the fact that there is zero expectation and optimism.

19/24 followed by 17/24 for a club that's otherwise not finished lower than 9/24 in the Championship for the last ~15 years.... It can't get a great deal worse next season and we're currently playing significantly below our recent average. I think us finishing above 14/24 is pretty unlikely given recent events.

[Nameless]

A superficial analysis says we finished just 6 points off 14th. And to be honest we threw away many more than 6 points last season. A very slight improvement, a bit more luck, a couple of refereeing decisions and we COULD have finished in the top half.
But of course it's never that easy. However my point is that we are talking very fine margins. I think it's hard to call whether we'll do better or worse next season.

[Ian Royal]

A superficial analysis says we finished just 6 points off 14th. And to be honest we threw away many more than 6 points last season. A very slight improvement, a bit more luck, a couple of refereeing decisions and we COULD have finished in the top half.
But of course it's never that easy. However my point is that we are talking very fine margins. I think it's hard to call whether we'll do better or worse next season.

I struggle to see a much more organised side with a great deal of belief. It's had more uncertainty and disruption thrown at it and there's no one planning strategy yet. Any new Manager is going to have to go through a period of assessment before they can really kick off. I think it's going to take some pretty great circumstances to go anywhere. And if there's a ropey start it's bye bye and a new manager by Xmas for yet more disruption.

Obviously once we know who is manager, things will start becoming clearer. I'd personally say we've got a far stronger chance of going down than finishing in the play offs though.

[Nameless]

to be honest Ian it's not about what you can see !
Plenty of teams go from being a bit below par to a bit above it thanks to a manager coming in and sorting a few issues out. If we make a handful of decent signings then we'll be fine.
The point was also not about making the playoffs. As I said we were fine margins off finishing in the top half. Obviously an exceptional spell in the autumn brought us a lot of point but we also dropped loads due individual errors in attack and defence.
In theory finding half a dozen point should not be hard. If only football was as simplistic as that !

[Top Flight]

It's true, there are fine margins in the Championship. An improvement could see us fly up the league and challenge for the play offs. On the other hand, if we take another step backwards we will fall out of the division and be heading for League One.

At the moment, it looks to me like we are probably going to be getting weaker again. If we are to sell Williams, Gunter and Norwood this summer and replace them with more of the same types of signings that came in last summer we could be in big trouble. Rakels and Kermorgant is a big step down from Sa and Blackman. Gravenberch is probably a step down from Hector and Ferdinand. The Polish RB, if he comes is probably a further weakening of the Right Back position although I'm sure Ian Royal would disagree on that one.

It's difficult to see how we will improve if there is no money to sign the quality players that we need. We just have to hope that Stam and Brian Tev have the contacts and clout as well as the judgement to bring in good players. The Thais are taking big risks. Let's hope it pays off. Usually, it doesn't.

[Old Biscuitman]

Think Leicester you dreary pessimistic souls.

[Ian Royal]

to be honest Ian it's not about what you can see !
Plenty of teams go from being a bit below par to a bit above it thanks to a manager coming in and sorting a few issues out. If we make a handful of decent signings then we'll be fine.
The point was also not about making the playoffs. As I said we were fine margins off finishing in the top half. Obviously an exceptional spell in the autumn brought us a lot of point but we also dropped loads due individual errors in attack and defence.
In theory finding half a dozen point should not be hard. If only football was as simplistic as that !

Every team can point to where they could have gained points.

[Nameless]

It's true, there are fine margins in the Championship. An improvement could see us fly up the league and challenge for the play offs. On the other hand, if we take another step backwards we will fall out of the division and be heading for League One.

At the moment, it looks to me like we are probably going to be getting weaker again. If we are to sell Williams, Gunter and Norwood this summer and replace them with more of the same types of signings that came in last summer we could be in big trouble. Rakels and Kermorgant is a big step down from Sa and Blackman. Gravenberch is probably a step down from Hector and Ferdinand. The Polish RB, if he comes is probably a further weakening of the Right Back position although I'm sure Ian Royal would disagree on that one.

It's difficult to see how we will improve if there is no money to sign the quality players that we need. We just have to hope that Stam and Brian Tev have the contacts and clout as well as the judgement to bring in good players. The Thais are taking big risks. Let's hope it pays off. Usually, it doesn't.

Odd to claim Rakells and Kerm are a big step down from Blackman and Sa.
Rakells scored 3 in 10 compared to Sa getting 5 in 19 with the bonus of Rakells not getting sent off or even looking like getting sent off.
Blackman had one run of games completely at odds with the rest of his career, he's not looked like reproducing that run. Kerm could be said to be similar, the difference being his career has been pretty decent and he's had a bit of a dip.
I don't think you should be making life decisions on wild speculation. Your post contains so much guess work, wild speculation and deliberately unfounded pessimism I worry for you. Stop being such a pathetic specimen and go watch some cricket, or watch England thrash the Aussies on Saturday and get your left back on track....

[Haag Royal]

It's true, there are fine margins in the Championship. An improvement could see us fly up the league and challenge for the play offs. On the other hand, if we take another step backwards we will fall out of the division and be heading for League One.

At the moment, it looks to me like we are probably going to be getting weaker again. If we are to sell Williams, Gunter and Norwood this summer and replace them with more of the same types of signings that came in last summer we could be in big trouble. Rakels and Kermorgant is a big step down from Sa and Blackman. Gravenberch is probably a step down from Hector and Ferdinand. The Polish RB, if he comes is probably a further weakening of the Right Back position although I'm sure Ian Royal would disagree on that one.

It's difficult to see how we will improve if there is no money to sign the quality players that we need. We just have to hope that Stam and Brian Tev have the contacts and clout as well as the judgement to bring in good players. The Thais are taking big risks. Let's hope it pays off. Usually, it doesn't.

I wonder why you bother to be honest. Another post littered with speculative nonsense.

[Top Flight]

It's true, there are fine margins in the Championship. An improvement could see us fly up the league and challenge for the play offs. On the other hand, if we take another step backwards we will fall out of the division and be heading for League One.

At the moment, it looks to me like we are probably going to be getting weaker again. If we are to sell Williams, Gunter and Norwood this summer and replace them with more of the same types of signings that came in last summer we could be in big trouble. Rakels and Kermorgant is a big step down from Sa and Blackman. Gravenberch is probably a step down from Hector and Ferdinand. The Polish RB, if he comes is probably a further weakening of the Right Back position although I'm sure Ian Royal would disagree on that one.

It's difficult to see how we will improve if there is no money to sign the quality players that we need. We just have to hope that Stam and Brian Tev have the contacts and clout as well as the judgement to bring in good players. The Thais are taking big risks. Let's hope it pays off. Usually, it doesn't.

Odd to claim Rakells and Kerm are a big step down from Blackman and Sa.
Rakells scored 3 in 10 compared to Sa getting 5 in 19 with the bonus of Rakells not getting sent off or even looking like getting sent off.
Blackman had one run of games completely at odds with the rest of his career, he's not looked like reproducing that run. Kerm could be said to be similar, the difference being his career has been pretty decent and he's had a bit of a dip.
I don't think you should be making life decisions on wild speculation. Your post contains so much guess work, wild speculation and deliberately unfounded pessimism I worry for you. Stop being such a pathetic specimen and go watch some cricket, or watch England thrash the Aussies on Saturday and get your left back on track....

Yes, ok then, I will do that. Thanks for your advice.

[SCIAG]

to be honest Ian it's not about what you can see !
Plenty of teams go from being a bit below par to a bit above it thanks to a manager coming in and sorting a few issues out. If we make a handful of decent signings then we'll be fine.
The point was also not about making the playoffs. As I said we were fine margins off finishing in the top half. Obviously an exceptional spell in the autumn brought us a lot of point but we also dropped loads due individual errors in attack and defence.
In theory finding half a dozen point should not be hard. If only football was as simplistic as that !

Every team can point to where they could have gained points.

Well yes, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a significant degree of chance involved in your final league position. Your star striker breaks up with his girlfriend, goes on a run of missing chances, and you slide down. Next year he's in a much better place, more opposition goalkeepers have off days, and you pick up a couple of extra wins. When there are fine margins, little bits of chance can have a big impact. You get a fortunate win against a rival where last year you were unlucky to lose and suddenly you've gained six points on them.

If we were exceptionally unlucky this year - I don't know if we were - then we probably won't be as unlucky next year, and just putting in similar performances could boost us into the top half. On the other hand, if we were exceptionally lucky...

[Top Flight]

to be honest Ian it's not about what you can see !
Plenty of teams go from being a bit below par to a bit above it thanks to a manager coming in and sorting a few issues out. If we make a handful of decent signings then we'll be fine.
The point was also not about making the playoffs. As I said we were fine margins off finishing in the top half. Obviously an exceptional spell in the autumn brought us a lot of point but we also dropped loads due individual errors in attack and defence.
In theory finding half a dozen point should not be hard. If only football was as simplistic as that !

Every team can point to where they could have gained points.

Well yes, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a significant degree of chance involved in your final league position. Your star striker breaks up with his girlfriend, goes on a run of missing chances, and you slide down. Next year he's in a much better place, more opposition goalkeepers have off days, and you pick up a couple of extra wins. When there are fine margins, little bits of chance can have a big impact. You get a fortunate win against a rival where last year you were unlucky to lose and suddenly you've gained six points on them.

If we were exceptionally unlucky this year - I don't know if we were - then we probably won't be as unlucky next year, and just putting in similar performances could boost us into the top half. On the other hand, if we were exceptionally lucky...

Luck doesn't really work like that SCIAG. We could be just as unlucky next year or even more unlucky.

Just because there are 5 reds in a row doesn't mean the next spin is more likely to be a black. It's still a 50/50 chance.

[SCIAG]

Luck doesn't really work like that SCIAG. We could be just as unlucky next year or even more unlucky.

Just because there are 5 reds in a row doesn't mean the next spin is more likely to be a black. It's still a 50/50 chance.

Those are unrelated phenomena.

If there are five reds in a row, and someone asks you to bet on whether there will be more, as many, or fewer reds in the next five, which will you bet on? What about if there are two reds in a sequence of ten?

This is known as "regression to the mean" and is a well-documented statistical phenomenon that explains many things.

[seahawk10]

I am always optimistic about the upcoming season. I like to listen to fanchants for Reading to get pumped up. I just let it play all the reading chants while I work:
http://fanchants.co.uk/football-songs/r ... y-reading/

[Oilroyal]

Here's an optimistic view to cheer us up http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/opinion-why-reading-are-premier-league-bound/

[John Smith]

Here's an optimistic view to cheer us up http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/opinion-why-reading-are-premier-league-bound/

Wow. And to think I'd read a lot of drivel on here! Who the oxf*rd is Harry Smith?! Someone needs to tell him to get his head out of the sand pronto

[sandman]

Here's an optimistic view to cheer us up http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/opinion-why-reading-are-premier-league-bound/

Wow. And to think I'd read a lot of drivel on here! Who the oxf*rd is Harry Smith?! Someone needs to tell him to get his head out of the sand pronto

Harry Francis Smith is a Canadian professional wrestler of English descent. He is the son of "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, the grandson of Stu Hart and nephew of Bret Hart. He is currently working for New Japan Pro Wrestling as Davey Boy Smith, Jr.

[Oilroyal]

[Ian Royal]

Impressive he knows the names of so many youth players. But a fair few bits that suggest he doesn't actually know a lot about us other than names.