FAO Brian

[Z175]

I think the interview was disappointing, but then Brian must have been sick at that result.

But I disagree with a lot of the comments about our team and manager.

I think Pogrebnyaks a great player -its not his fault no one get s anywhere near him. He had a poor game yeaterday, even before the red, but hes turned in some excellent displays of late. And for all those saying hes not likely to score, hes the most clinical player I've every seen for Reading.

Guthrie - this man is so lightweight - his introduction on Monday (at 0-0) resulted in our prompt exit from the FA Cup. Hes had a good 10 mins v WBA in the entire season, you can't blame McDermott for his lack of effort on the pitch and refusing to go on long coach journeys.

Leigertwood - has had an appalling season but has now turned the corner. He played ok on Saturday, unlike almost everyone else, and yet still gets scapegoated. He barely ever gave the ball away and won it back a lot.

So it comes down to the Morrison horror show. There is no way Pearce would have missed a single game if he'd signed a new contract, but McDermotts not going to come out and publically explain we don't want to give him a platform to earn a move from or that the new owner actually picks the team... So Brian has man-ed up and taken the flack for not playing Pearce. In a world with no stingy chairmen or greedy agents, he wouldn't have to do that. Obviously looking at the Pearce v Morrison statistics, this makes him sound like a bad manager, which his why he points to the last 3 years, which show he clearly isn't.

And hes learnt to point out referees mistakes, as hes realised the PL are sensitive to publicity and we'll get a soft decision next week now.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

And who chose who to sign? Or does he let Nick Hammond do all of his shopping for him nowadays?!

For this, I think you should look a bit more closely at TSI, whose takeover was going to take us 'to the next level'. LOL, yeah ok then

McDermott chose to sign these players, nobody else. He had the money, he wasted it.

Don't blame TSI, without them we wouldn't even be in the Premier League.

[Royal With Cheese]

Since you've dropped Pearce this season, we have 0.5 points per game, as opposed to 1.875 with him in - you do the maths. How you can brush off his dropping on the basis of one game at Stoke is an absolute disgrace and Morrison was toilet today. How can you bring off Akpan when he was our only effective player today and leave Leigertwood and Karacan on - 2 players who seem incapable of passing a football.

Oh, and referees don't cost you three goals - hth.

Much as it pains me I can't disagree with that. I'm not sure Karacan's got the nous for top flight football.

I genuinely think Brian panicked after Pog got sent off. You can see it in his eyes in the post match interview.

However, we can forgive a bad game occasionally if we can get it right against Villa, Saints and QPR.

[windermere_royal]

I think the interview was disappointing, but then Brian must have been sick at that result.

But I disagree with a lot of the comments about our team and manager.

I think Pogrebnyaks a great player -its not his fault no one get s anywhere near him. He had a poor game yeaterday, even before the red, but hes turned in some excellent displays of late. And for all those saying hes not likely to score, hes the most clinical player I've every seen for Reading.

Guthrie - this man is so lightweight - his introduction on Monday (at 0-0) resulted in our prompt exit from the FA Cup. Hes had a good 10 mins v WBA in the entire season, you can't blame McDermott for his lack of effort on the pitch and refusing to go on long coach journeys.

Leigertwood - has had an appalling season but has now turned the corner. He played ok on Saturday, unlike almost everyone else, and yet still gets scapegoated. He barely ever gave the ball away and won it back a lot.

So it comes down to the Morrison horror show. There is no way Pearce would have missed a single game if he'd signed a new contract, but McDermotts not going to come out and publically explain we don't want to give him a platform to earn a move from or that the new owner actually picks the team... So Brian has man-ed up and taken the flack for not playing Pearce. In a world with no stingy chairmen or greedy agents, he wouldn't have to do that. Obviously looking at the Pearce v Morrison statistics, this makes him sound like a bad manager, which his why he points to the last 3 years, which show he clearly isn't.

And hes learnt to point out referees mistakes, as hes realised the PL are sensitive to publicity and we'll get a soft decision next week now.

Brilliant post, agree with every word , its truely amazing how others see the game different when its there right in front of them, some mongs just decide they don`t like someone and no kind of decent performances will ever convince them otherwise.

[Avon Royal]

I think the interview was disappointing, but then Brian must have been sick at that result.

But I disagree with a lot of the comments about our team and manager.

I think Pogrebnyaks a great player -its not his fault no one get s anywhere near him. He had a poor game yeaterday, even before the red, but hes turned in some excellent displays of late. And for all those saying hes not likely to score, hes the most clinical player I've every seen for Reading.

Guthrie - this man is so lightweight - his introduction on Monday (at 0-0) resulted in our prompt exit from the FA Cup. Hes had a good 10 mins v WBA in the entire season, you can't blame McDermott for his lack of effort on the pitch and refusing to go on long coach journeys.

Leigertwood - has had an appalling season but has now turned the corner. He played ok on Saturday, unlike almost everyone else, and yet still gets scapegoated. He barely ever gave the ball away and won it back a lot.

So it comes down to the Morrison horror show. There is no way Pearce would have missed a single game if he'd signed a new contract, but McDermotts not going to come out and publically explain we don't want to give him a platform to earn a move from or that the new owner actually picks the team... So Brian has man-ed up and taken the flack for not playing Pearce. In a world with no stingy chairmen or greedy agents, he wouldn't have to do that. Obviously looking at the Pearce v Morrison statistics, this makes him sound like a bad manager, which his why he points to the last 3 years, which show he clearly isn't.

And hes learnt to point out referees mistakes, as hes realised the PL are sensitive to publicity and we'll get a soft decision next week now.

Brilliant post, agree with every word , its truely amazing how others see the game different when its there right in front of them, some mongs just decide they don`t like someone and no kind of decent performances will ever convince them otherwise.

Yeah, but the part about Guthrie costing us the game at Man Utd is utter bollocks. His introduction coincided with that of Robin Van Persie which may have had some impact on the game.

[Big Ern]

With Avon on this one. More to dmwith Van Perise than Guthrie.

[rhroyal]

What's frustrating is our team has plenty of shortcomings and there is so much about our predicament which I can't blame McD for.

BUT FFS PLAY ALEX PEARCE!!!!! LOOK OUR RECORD WITHOUT HIM AND WITH HIM; WE'RE ONLY BEHIND 17TH BY 1 POINT, LEAVING HIM OUT IS THAT FCUKING DIFFERENCE AND MORE!!!!!

That's all I have to say I guess. Our best defender, out natural organiser and leader at the back, should have been playing all season. No excuses - of all McD's errors his most costly and least forgiveable.

No exaggeration.

[Royal With Cheese]

I think the interview was disappointing, but then Brian must have been sick at that result.

But I disagree with a lot of the comments about our team and manager.

I think Pogrebnyaks a great player -its not his fault no one get s anywhere near him. He had a poor game yeaterday, even before the red, but hes turned in some excellent displays of late. And for all those saying hes not likely to score, hes the most clinical player I've every seen for Reading.

Guthrie - this man is so lightweight - his introduction on Monday (at 0-0) resulted in our prompt exit from the FA Cup. Hes had a good 10 mins v WBA in the entire season, you can't blame McDermott for his lack of effort on the pitch and refusing to go on long coach journeys.

Leigertwood - has had an appalling season but has now turned the corner. He played ok on Saturday, unlike almost everyone else, and yet still gets scapegoated. He barely ever gave the ball away and won it back a lot.

So it comes down to the Morrison horror show. There is no way Pearce would have missed a single game if he'd signed a new contract, but McDermotts not going to come out and publically explain we don't want to give him a platform to earn a move from or that the new owner actually picks the team... So Brian has man-ed up and taken the flack for not playing Pearce. In a world with no stingy chairmen or greedy agents, he wouldn't have to do that. Obviously looking at the Pearce v Morrison statistics, this makes him sound like a bad manager, which his why he points to the last 3 years, which show he clearly isn't.

And hes learnt to point out referees mistakes, as hes realised the PL are sensitive to publicity and we'll get a soft decision next week now.

Brilliant post, agree with every word , its truely amazing how others see the game different when its there right in front of them, some mongs just decide they don`t like someone and no kind of decent performances will ever convince them otherwise.

Yeah, but the part about Guthrie costing us the game at Man Utd is utter bollocks. His introduction coincided with that of Robin Van Persie which may have had some impact on the game.

But this is symptomatic of the Reading way - blame one of our players for perceived failing rather than a tactical/personnel change/bit of brilliance by the opposition.

I fcukes me off that people get upset because we're not Manchester United. We're not going to win every fcuking game. I think the games from Christmas on, bar the Wigan game, we've competed in every one. Suddenlty, after one bad day, we're down.

[RoyalBlue]

With Avon on this one. More to dmwith Van Perise than Guthrie.

Didn't Guthrie play a key part in the build up to our goal as well?

[howser]

The inept tactics, confusing and back stabbing team selections, absolute rubbish signings confirms what most thought around November last year, McD in charge with the assistance of Hammond and Madejski pulling the purse strings this was always going to be an impossible challenge, we, as last time,show the premier league no respect, the only teams that remain in the top league for season after season are those who invest in, and I recall that we were going to do this, premiership experienced players.

A rubbish season where we are going to be embarrased more often than not, in the remaining games.

[Royalclapper]

There are obvious disparities between the players in terms of those who can play and those who are limited. Pog, Guthrie, Kelly, Carrico, have all been in sides that play a bit, and they are probably feeling the most disinterested. Pog particularly has looked totally bemused these last couple of games. While limited types like McAnuff and Legs soldier on seemingly faultless to the manager who apparently is frightened to death of anyone with even an ounce of talent.

I'm not convinced by the 'limited budget' argument either, even if Brian had been given £30mill I'm not sure the football would be a lot better than what's on offer now. I don't blame AZ for not issuing blank cheques either as even talented players would likely have any skill drained out of them playing the way we do. All this 'we move on' just gets on your nerves, it's a load of cobblers.

[holsgrove breaks a leg]

Brian had tinkered constantly with his CB pairings up until relatively recently when Pearce and Mariappa have formed a formidable partnership.To start tinkering again is plain daft whatever the reasons behind it - the fact we have not had a settled back 4 speaks absolute volumes to me in terms of the amounts of goals we concede.Of course it doesnt help when you have the least offensive midfield i think i have known in 20 odd years.Yes you have to 'get the balance right' but thats exactly the problem, we literally have no attacking input from central midfield let alone the creative variety. Apart from Kebe with five goals the midfield have contributed to an average of around 1 goal each,and with 5 being employed there thats not acceptable. To me it just highlights what a great job both Alfie and Pog are doing with the absolute lack of quality service they receive (bar some impressive Harte/Shorey set pieces). By all means employ a defensive midfield, but you need to include players that take responsibility with the ball and make runs to open up space.I very very rarely see Ledge or Karacan do this and to be fair it was refreshing to see Akpan do that in the time i have seen him. If BM believes in a defensive mid set up then really the area he should have concentrated on over the summer was that positiion with someone who can drive with the ball as well as defend, Instead we have Guthrie who isnt really defensive or attacking and probably is on another wavelength in the creativity stakes, and Caricco a player that is woefully short of match fitness. I think Akpan looks to have some promise but it really is too early to expect him to come on leaps and bounds and arriving in Jan is never an easy task. Also BM discussed at length how well we made a fist of it against Man U in the cup with 442, i would agree to a large extent - so then why on earth not take that forward against Wigan where we needed to impose ourselves further up the pitch?

[Royal91]

There are obvious disparities between the players in terms of those who can play and those who are limited. Pog, Guthrie, Kelly, Carrico, have all been in sides that play a bit, and they are probably feeling the most disinterested. Pog particularly has looked totally bemused these last couple of games. While limited types like McAnuff and Legs soldier on seemingly faultless to the manager who apparently is frightened to death of anyone with even an ounce of talent.

I'm not convinced by the 'limited budget' argument either, even if Brian had been given £30mill I'm not sure the football would be a lot better than what's on offer now. I don't blame AZ for not issuing blank cheques either as even talented players would likely have any skill drained out of them playing the way we do. All this 'we move on' just gets on your nerves, it's a load of cobblers.

Agreed

[Royal91]

Brian had tinkered constantly with his CB pairings up until relatively recently when Pearce and Mariappa have formed a formidable partnership.To start tinkering again is plain daft whatever the reasons behind it - the fact we have not had a settled back 4 speaks absolute volumes to me in terms of the amounts of goals we concede.Of course it doesnt help when you have the least offensive midfield i think i have known in 20 odd years.Yes you have to 'get the balance right' but thats exactly the problem, we literally have no attacking input from central midfield let alone the creative variety. Apart from Kebe with five goals the midfield have contributed to an average of around 1 goal each,and with 5 being employed there thats not acceptable. To me it just highlights what a great job both Alfie and Pog are doing with the absolute lack of quality service they receive (bar some impressive Harte/Shorey set pieces). By all means employ a defensive midfield, but you need to include players that take responsibility with the ball and make runs to open up space.I very very rarely see Ledge or Karacan do this and to be fair it was refreshing to see Akpan do that in the time i have seen him. If BM believes in a defensive mid set up then really the area he should have concentrated on over the summer was that positiion with someone who can drive with the ball as well as defend, Instead we have Guthrie who isnt really defensive or attacking and probably is on another wavelength in the creativity stakes, and Caricco a player that is woefully short of match fitness. I think Akpan looks to have some promise but it really is too early to expect him to come on leaps and bounds and arriving in Jan is never an easy task. Also BM discussed at length how well we made a fist of it against Man U in the cup with 442, i would agree to a large extent - so then why on earth not take that forward against Wigan where we needed to impose ourselves further up the pitch?

Agreed

[melonhead]

The inept tactics, confusing and back stabbing team selections, absolute rubbish signings confirms what most thought around November last year, McD in charge with the assistance of Hammond and Madejski pulling the purse strings this was always going to be an impossible challenge, we, as last time,show the premier league no respect, the only teams that remain in the top league for season after season are those who invest in, and I recall that we were going to do this, premiership experienced players.

A rubbish season where we are going to be embarrased more often than not, in the remaining games.

[Royal91]

I've got no confidence in McDermott purely for his team selections and his favouritisms towards McAnuff and L,wood.

His justification for dropping Pearce just showed he hasn't got a frigging clue what he's doing at this level.

[Cypry]

The inept tactics, confusing and back stabbing team selections, absolute rubbish signings confirms what most thought around November last year, McD in charge with the assistance of Hammond and Madejski pulling the purse strings this was always going to be an impossible challenge, we, as last time,show the premier league no respect, the only teams that remain in the top league for season after season are those who invest in, and I recall that we were going to do this, premiership experienced players.

A rubbish season where we are going to be embarrased more often than not, in the remaining games.

I keep reading this in various threads - people seem to be quoting Brian out of context repeatedly..."we were going to do this" - "we were promised experienced Premiership players" - no we weren't!!!!

What he actually said prior to the January transfer window was that we would TRY to get in experienced Premiership players, and he immediately qualified his statement by saying that it would not be an easy task for a club in our position...I have no problem with Brian and the club being criticised for things that they actually have said or done, but if you're going to quote and use that as a basis for your criticism, at least quote accurately....

[themadstad]

The team just looks short of quality all over and the way we are set up to play is the only way we can do anything with being such a technically poor team.

The tactics on Saturday were poor and that's happened more than once. Sadly it was the biggest mistake possible losing this game. We still need 15 points but look at the remaining fixtures.

Poor purchases since promotion whether backed or not but after the attempt to sign Gylfi you'd have to say backing was there. Add to that poor team selections and poor substitutions. This hasn't always been the case but everything says we have a team not good enough and a manager at the very least not ready.

We could stay up yes but with the games left what could and will happen are two different things.

[melonhead]

I've got no confidence in McDermott purely for his team selections and his favouritisms towards McAnuff and L,wood.

His justification for dropping Pearce just showed he hasn't got a frigging clue what he's doing at this level.

theyve not been perfect, but when these two play well, we get points.

[DOYLERSAROYALER]

I've got no confidence in McDermott purely for his team selections and his favouritisms towards McAnuff and L,wood.

His justification for dropping Pearce just showed he hasn't got a frigging clue what he's doing at this level.

theyve not been perfect, but when these two play well, we get points.

Well a total of 23 pts out of 81 says it all then ...they aren't very good