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

[Dixeyroyal]

I haven't been following HNA for the past few days. I did listen to a bit of Adie Williams and Dellor in the car on the way back from the Wolves game and was a bit surprised by all the negativity. I don't know what the heck it is that Dellor expects or that Reading fans are hoping for. Remember the song. We're not Real Madrid, We're not Barcelona, We are Reading football club, Madejski is our owner.

Our fans and Dellor just need to calm down and get real. The performance against Wolves was very good. It was a hard fought, battling game, war of attrition. Typical blood and thunder Championship encounter. The weather conditions were awful. Wolves as they do regularly came and parked the bus. Just one man up front and a packed midfield. It was always going to be a tough match. It was similar to the game up at Molineux on boxing day. We couldn't find a way through then either. If anyone thinks you can just rock up at a championship game and turn teams over 4-0 every week, you really need to get your head tested. This is a tough division.

McDermott is slowly finding the winning formula. He is addressing our major vulnerability which has been with us all season but was first brutally exposed in devastating fashion by Fulham at the Cottage, which has been our soft underbelly and inability to defend when teams really turn the screw on us as Fulham did that afternoon.

Clarke tried to find the balance between defence and attack after our defensive weakness came to light at the Cottage but just wasn't able to. McDermott understands that success is a built on a solid defensive foundation. So has sacrificed a little bit on the attacking side to shore up our defensive game. On that front he is succeeding. Now he has to find the difference that will win us matches. I am certain McDermott will get it right. He is an excellent manager. You all just need to calm down and let him get on with the job. He needs two or three more transfer windows. He is a manager that makes progress over time. That is what happened before. There was no period when he was taking the club backwards. We weren't good enough for the Premier League unfortunately. But if he had enough time and wasn't shoved out the door then we would most likley be in the Premier League right now via perhaps one or two seasons in the championship.

If our problem is scoring goals. Is the solution to sack the manager? or to buy a new striker?

"Mcdermott is slowly finding the winning formula" - are you on drugs?
His record since he came back is SHIT, SHIT and furthermore SHIT. When he came back I remember his press conference containing the line "I have learnt a lot since I have been away", clearly that learning had nothing to do with football. He has employed the same boring F*****G tactics that he always has and is once again showing that his management style is based on nothing more than "I will just do what I did last time, only this time HRK has replaced McAnuff as the Teachers pet who will never be dropped.

It was interesting on Saturday that McDermott spent most of the 2nd half walking backwards and forwards to his water bottle every couple of minutes. He used to do the same when we were struggling in the Prem, not because he was very thirsty but because he knew that he didnt have a f*****g clue what to do next, THE MAN IS A MUPPET!

[RoyalJames101]

I haven't been following HNA for the past few days. I did listen to a bit of Adie Williams and Dellor in the car on the way back from the Wolves game and was a bit surprised by all the negativity. I don't know what the heck it is that Dellor expects or that Reading fans are hoping for. Remember the song. We're not Real Madrid, We're not Barcelona, We are Reading football club, Madejski is our owner.

Our fans and Dellor just need to calm down and get real. The performance against Wolves was very good. It was a hard fought, battling game, war of attrition. Typical blood and thunder Championship encounter. The weather conditions were awful. Wolves as they do regularly came and parked the bus. Just one man up front and a packed midfield. It was always going to be a tough match. It was similar to the game up at Molineux on boxing day. We couldn't find a way through then either. If anyone thinks you can just rock up at a championship game and turn teams over 4-0 every week, you really need to get your head tested. This is a tough division.

McDermott is slowly finding the winning formula. He is addressing our major vulnerability which has been with us all season but was first brutally exposed in devastating fashion by Fulham at the Cottage, which has been our soft underbelly and inability to defend when teams really turn the screw on us as Fulham did that afternoon.

Clarke tried to find the balance between defence and attack after our defensive weakness came to light at the Cottage but just wasn't able to. McDermott understands that success is a built on a solid defensive foundation. So has sacrificed a little bit on the attacking side to shore up our defensive game. On that front he is succeeding. Now he has to find the difference that will win us matches. I am certain McDermott will get it right. He is an excellent manager. You all just need to calm down and let him get on with the job. He needs two or three more transfer windows. He is a manager that makes progress over time. That is what happened before. There was no period when he was taking the club backwards. We weren't good enough for the Premier League unfortunately. But if he had enough time and wasn't shoved out the door then we would most likley be in the Premier League right now via perhaps one or two seasons in the championship.

If our problem is scoring goals. Is the solution to sack the manager? or to buy a new striker?

"Mcdermott is slowly finding the winning formula" - are you on drugs?
His record since he came back is SHIT, SHIT and furthermore SHIT. When he came back I remember his press conference containing the line "I have learnt a lot since I have been away", clearly that learning had nothing to do with football. He has employed the same boring F*****G tactics that he always has and is once again showing that his management style is based on nothing more than "I will just do what I did last time, only this time HRK has replaced McAnuff as the Teachers pet who will never be dropped.

It was interesting on Saturday that McDermott spent most of the 2nd half walking backwards and forwards to his water bottle every couple of minutes. He used to do the same when we were struggling in the Prem, not because he was very thirsty but because he knew that he didnt have a f*****g clue what to do next, THE MAN IS A MUPPET!

I don't think dropping our best player in the last 6 weeks would be the best idea.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

I haven't been following HNA for the past few days. I did listen to a bit of Adie Williams and Dellor in the car on the way back from the Wolves game and was a bit surprised by all the negativity. I don't know what the heck it is that Dellor expects or that Reading fans are hoping for. Remember the song. We're not Real Madrid, We're not Barcelona, We are Reading football club, Madejski is our owner.

Our fans and Dellor just need to calm down and get real. The performance against Wolves was very good. It was a hard fought, battling game, war of attrition. Typical blood and thunder Championship encounter. The weather conditions were awful. Wolves as they do regularly came and parked the bus. Just one man up front and a packed midfield. It was always going to be a tough match. It was similar to the game up at Molineux on boxing day. We couldn't find a way through then either. If anyone thinks you can just rock up at a championship game and turn teams over 4-0 every week, you really need to get your head tested. This is a tough division.

McDermott is slowly finding the winning formula. He is addressing our major vulnerability which has been with us all season but was first brutally exposed in devastating fashion by Fulham at the Cottage, which has been our soft underbelly and inability to defend when teams really turn the screw on us as Fulham did that afternoon.

Clarke tried to find the balance between defence and attack after our defensive weakness came to light at the Cottage but just wasn't able to. McDermott understands that success is a built on a solid defensive foundation. So has sacrificed a little bit on the attacking side to shore up our defensive game. On that front he is succeeding. Now he has to find the difference that will win us matches. I am certain McDermott will get it right. He is an excellent manager. You all just need to calm down and let him get on with the job. He needs two or three more transfer windows. He is a manager that makes progress over time. That is what happened before. There was no period when he was taking the club backwards. We weren't good enough for the Premier League unfortunately. But if he had enough time and wasn't shoved out the door then we would most likley be in the Premier League right now via perhaps one or two seasons in the championship.

If our problem is scoring goals. Is the solution to sack the manager? or to buy a new striker?

"Mcdermott is slowly finding the winning formula" - are you on drugs?
His record since he came back is SHIT, SHIT and furthermore SHIT. When he came back I remember his press conference containing the line "I have learnt a lot since I have been away", clearly that learning had nothing to do with football. He has employed the same boring F*****G tactics that he always has and is once again showing that his management style is based on nothing more than "I will just do what I did last time, only this time HRK has replaced McAnuff as the Teachers pet who will never be dropped.

It was interesting on Saturday that McDermott spent most of the 2nd half walking backwards and forwards to his water bottle every couple of minutes. He used to do the same when we were struggling in the Prem, not because he was very thirsty but because he knew that he didnt have a f*****g clue what to do next, THE MAN IS A MUPPET!

Whilst I'm not convinced he's doing a good job right now, and I have fears he may not be the right option in the long term, but you are being really over the top here. He's a good man doing the best he can. If you could moderate your tone a bit and make reasonable points rather than just flying insults around you'd be better able to engage in a debate.

[AthleticoSpizz]

I haven't been following HNA for the past few days. I did listen to a bit of Adie Williams and Dellor in the car on the way back from the Wolves game and was a bit surprised by all the negativity. I don't know what the heck it is that Dellor expects or that Reading fans are hoping for. Remember the song. We're not Real Madrid, We're not Barcelona, We are Reading football club, Madejski is our owner.

Our fans and Dellor just need to calm down and get real. The performance against Wolves was very good. It was a hard fought, battling game, war of attrition. Typical blood and thunder Championship encounter. The weather conditions were awful. Wolves as they do regularly came and parked the bus. Just one man up front and a packed midfield. It was always going to be a tough match. It was similar to the game up at Molineux on boxing day. We couldn't find a way through then either. If anyone thinks you can just rock up at a championship game and turn teams over 4-0 every week, you really need to get your head tested. This is a tough division.

McDermott is slowly finding the winning formula. He is addressing our major vulnerability which has been with us all season but was first brutally exposed in devastating fashion by Fulham at the Cottage, which has been our soft underbelly and inability to defend when teams really turn the screw on us as Fulham did that afternoon.

Clarke tried to find the balance between defence and attack after our defensive weakness came to light at the Cottage but just wasn't able to. McDermott understands that success is a built on a solid defensive foundation. So has sacrificed a little bit on the attacking side to shore up our defensive game. On that front he is succeeding. Now he has to find the difference that will win us matches. I am certain McDermott will get it right. He is an excellent manager. You all just need to calm down and let him get on with the job. He needs two or three more transfer windows. He is a manager that makes progress over time. That is what happened before. There was no period when he was taking the club backwards. We weren't good enough for the Premier League unfortunately. But if he had enough time and wasn't shoved out the door then we would most likley be in the Premier League right now via perhaps one or two seasons in the championship.

If our problem is scoring goals. Is the solution to sack the manager? or to buy a new striker?

"Mcdermott is slowly finding the winning formula" - are you on drugs?
His record since he came back is SHIT, SHIT and furthermore SHIT. When he came back I remember his press conference containing the line "I have learnt a lot since I have been away", clearly that learning had nothing to do with football. He has employed the same boring F*****G tactics that he always has and is once again showing that his management style is based on nothing more than "I will just do what I did last time, only this time HRK has replaced McAnuff as our Madejski stadium and HNA boo boy target

It was interesting on Saturday that McDermott spent most of the 2nd half walking backwards and forwards to his water bottle every couple of minutes. He used to do the same when we were struggling in the Prem, not because he was very thirsty but because he knew that he didnt have a f*****g clue what to do next, THE MAN IS A MUPPET!

corrected for you

[Armadillo Roadkill]

The simple fact is, when you change a manager, you’re looking for some kind of evidence that they have identified what was wrong before and are starting to fix it. After a run of games – 12 in total - in which many people would suggest things are getting worse, then having a debate on a football forum is hardly disloyal, disrespectful or evidence of blatant short-termism.

If judging a manager after 12 games isn't short-termist then I don't know what is.
And, taking leaf from Snowball's stats interpretation book, Clarke's record after his first 12 league games was exactly the same as Brian's now: W4 D3 L5. Were you baying for Clarke's head then?

Judging a manger's impact over their first 12 games in charge is just that - how have they started. It's not making some grandiose extrapolation. I haven't called for his "head."

For what it's worth, after Clarke had been here a while and he was being widely praised, I was saying that if you actually look at it, results have not improved than under Adkins. I then went on to say that after he'd been given time, money and a free hand and things were falling apart - then he should be sacked. And I clearly wasn't the only person, because he was.

Of course Brian should be given more time. And backing in the summer transfer market. I hope to be proven wrong in my doubts about him. We'll see.

[CountryRoyal]

Top Flight has proven himself time and time again to be one of the worst posters on the team board (saying something).

He's not necessarily an arsehole, or a wind up merchant, he just spouts the most deluded, naive bollocks that is often just so unrelentingly wrong.

[Longhorn1970]

The simple fact is, when you change a manager, you’re looking for some kind of evidence that they have identified what was wrong before and are starting to fix it. After a run of games – 12 in total - in which many people would suggest things are getting worse, then having a debate on a football forum is hardly disloyal, disrespectful or evidence of blatant short-termism.

If judging a manager after 12 games isn't short-termist then I don't know what is.
And, taking leaf from Snowball's stats interpretation book, Clarke's record after his first 12 league games was exactly the same as Brian's now: W4 D3 L5. Were you baying for Clarke's head then?

Judging a manger's impact over their first 12 games in charge is just that - how have they started. It's not making some grandiose extrapolation. I haven't called for his "head."

For what it's worth, after Clarke had been here a while and he was being widely praised, I was saying that if you actually look at it, results have not improved than under Adkins. I then went on to say that after he'd been given time, money and a free hand and things were falling apart - then he should be sacked. And I clearly wasn't the only person, because he was.

Of course Brian should be given more time. And backing in the summer transfer market. I hope to be proven wrong in my doubts about him. We'll see.

As BM says 'we move on' well not in the case of his lack lustre appointment, but inevitably he will hopefully do as he says 'move on' ...

[Longhorn1970]

I haven't been following HNA for the past few days. I did listen to a bit of Adie Williams and Dellor in the car on the way back from the Wolves game and was a bit surprised by all the negativity. I don't know what the heck it is that Dellor expects or that Reading fans are hoping for. Remember the song. We're not Real Madrid, We're not Barcelona, We are Reading football club, Madejski is our owner.

Our fans and Dellor just need to calm down and get real. The performance against Wolves was very good. It was a hard fought, battling game, war of attrition. Typical blood and thunder Championship encounter. The weather conditions were awful. Wolves as they do regularly came and parked the bus. Just one man up front and a packed midfield. It was always going to be a tough match. It was similar to the game up at Molineux on boxing day. We couldn't find a way through then either. If anyone thinks you can just rock up at a championship game and turn teams over 4-0 every week, you really need to get your head tested. This is a tough division.

McDermott is slowly finding the winning formula. He is addressing our major vulnerability which has been with us all season but was first brutally exposed in devastating fashion by Fulham at the Cottage, which has been our soft underbelly and inability to defend when teams really turn the screw on us as Fulham did that afternoon.

Clarke tried to find the balance between defence and attack after our defensive weakness came to light at the Cottage but just wasn't able to. McDermott understands that success is a built on a solid defensive foundation. So has sacrificed a little bit on the attacking side to shore up our defensive game. On that front he is succeeding. Now he has to find the difference that will win us matches. I am certain McDermott will get it right. He is an excellent manager. You all just need to calm down and let him get on with the job. He needs two or three more transfer windows. He is a manager that makes progress over time. That is what happened before. There was no period when he was taking the club backwards. We weren't good enough for the Premier League unfortunately. But if he had enough time and wasn't shoved out the door then we would most likley be in the Premier League right now via perhaps one or two seasons in the championship.

If our problem is scoring goals. Is the solution to sack the manager? or to buy a new striker?

"Mcdermott is slowly finding the winning formula" - are you on drugs?
His record since he came back is SHIT, SHIT and furthermore SHIT. When he came back I remember his press conference containing the line "I have learnt a lot since I have been away", clearly that learning had nothing to do with football. He has employed the same boring F*****G tactics that he always has and is once again showing that his management style is based on nothing more than "I will just do what I did last time, only this time HRK has replaced McAnuff as the Teachers pet who will never be dropped.

It was interesting on Saturday that McDermott spent most of the 2nd half walking backwards and forwards to his water bottle every couple of minutes. He used to do the same when we were struggling in the Prem, not because he was very thirsty but because he knew that he didnt have a f*****g clue what to do next, THE MAN IS A MUPPET!

Valid - the one thing he's learnt since he's been away is that he's out of his depth and his blaming Terry Burton for the poor start done nothing to divert the spotlight from him ...

[Ian Royal]

I am getting slightly annoyed now with the dismissal of anyone who may open up a debate on McDermott’s record so far as an idiot, a moron, or “spaztmoid.” (As if trying to disguise a word with a long history of ridiculing people with mental and physical disabilities by tacking part of another word on the end lessens the insult).

The simple fact is, when you change a manager, you’re looking for some kind of evidence that they have identified what was wrong before and are starting to fix it. After a run of games – 12 in total - in which many people would suggest things are getting worse, then having a debate on a football forum is hardly disloyal, disrespectful or evidence of blatant short-termism.

Those of us that watched McDermott’s first period in charge could see clear failings towards the end of his tenure. Some of it was down to the club not going out and buying 16 world-class players for multi-millions. There were other factors as well. But the manager was most definitely was one of them.

I’m not desperate to win the Championship. I’d prefer long-term viability, more home grown players, and a team clearly doing everything in its power to win. It’s not that want it all and I want it now. I haven’t lost the plot. I was not convinced that McDermott was the right appointment. Nothing I have seen so far convinces me otherwise. Trying to drown out anyone who takes this view with insults as if we’re incapable of those world-class insight offered by those who are happy with McDermott is both arrogant and rude.

The problem is, there have been a vocal minority getting stuck into McDermott for weeks now. Look at when this thread was started for example. McDermott had been in charge for just 7 games over less than 30 days.

We're only just now getting to the stage where there's a point in having a look at how he's done (not as well as we'd hoped or wanted). There are clear areas in which we've improved though. We concede far fewer goals. Going a goal behind is no longer a virtual guarantee of losing. We're playing people out of position less. There's clearly more team spirit.

On the downside, results have barely picked up at all and we're scoring a bit less.

Talk of him being a failure, doing a poor job, his appointment being a mistake or him needing to go is still way too premature.

Unfortunately, if you're going to comment negatively on McDermott's performance at this early stage, even in a reasonable fashion, you're likely to occasionally get lumped in with the dismal idiots calling him McDonut, claiming we're playing hoofball and spouting other nonsense.

[Ian Royal]

"Mcdermott is slowly finding the winning formula" - are you on drugs?
His record since he came back is SHIT, SHIT and furthermore SHIT. When he came back I remember his press conference containing the line "I have learnt a lot since I have been away", clearly that learning had nothing to do with football. He has employed the same boring F*****G tactics that he always has and is once again showing that his management style is based on nothing more than "I will just do what I did last time, only this time HRK has replaced McAnuff as the Teachers pet who will never be dropped.

It was interesting on Saturday that McDermott spent most of the 2nd half walking backwards and forwards to his water bottle every couple of minutes. He used to do the same when we were struggling in the Prem, not because he was very thirsty but because he knew that he didnt have a f*****g clue what to do next, THE MAN IS A MUPPET!

FYI Armadillo

Case in point.

[Terminal Boardom]

https://youtu.be/TjPhzgxe3L0

[Longhorn1970]

I am getting slightly annoyed now with the dismissal of anyone who may open up a debate on McDermott’s record so far as an idiot, a moron, or “spaztmoid.” (As if trying to disguise a word with a long history of ridiculing people with mental and physical disabilities by tacking part of another word on the end lessens the insult).

The simple fact is, when you change a manager, you’re looking for some kind of evidence that they have identified what was wrong before and are starting to fix it. After a run of games – 12 in total - in which many people would suggest things are getting worse, then having a debate on a football forum is hardly disloyal, disrespectful or evidence of blatant short-termism.

Those of us that watched McDermott’s first period in charge could see clear failings towards the end of his tenure. Some of it was down to the club not going out and buying 16 world-class players for multi-millions. There were other factors as well. But the manager was most definitely was one of them.

I’m not desperate to win the Championship. I’d prefer long-term viability, more home grown players, and a team clearly doing everything in its power to win. It’s not that want it all and I want it now. I haven’t lost the plot. I was not convinced that McDermott was the right appointment. Nothing I have seen so far convinces me otherwise. Trying to drown out anyone who takes this view with insults as if we’re incapable of those world-class insight offered by those who are happy with McDermott is both arrogant and rude.

The problem is, there have been a vocal minority getting stuck into McDermott for weeks now. Look at when this thread was started for example. McDermott had been in charge for just 7 games over less than 30 days.

We're only just now getting to the stage where there's a point in having a look at how he's done (not as well as we'd hoped or wanted). There are clear areas in which we've improved though. We concede far fewer goals. Going a goal behind is no longer a virtual guarantee of losing. We're playing people out of position less. There's clearly more team spirit.

On the downside, results have barely picked up at all and we're scoring a bit less.

Talk of him being a failure, doing a poor job, his appointment being a mistake or him needing to go is still way too premature.

Unfortunately, if you're going to comment negatively on McDermott's performance at this early stage, even in a reasonable fashion, you're likely to occasionally get lumped in with the dismal idiots calling him McDonut, claiming we're playing hoofball and spouting other nonsense.

I fail to see one thing that was positive about replacing our managing when we were 7th, the non footballing owners are probably kicking themselves if the truth is known ..

[Ian Royal]

Top Flight has proven himself time and time again to be one of the worst posters on the team board (saying something).

He's not necessarily an arsehole, or a wind up merchant, he just spouts the most deluded, naive bollocks that is often just so unrelentingly wrong.

Longhorn immediately trying to prove you wrong.

[Longhorn1970]

Top Flight has proven himself time and time again to be one of the worst posters on the team board (saying something).

He's not necessarily an arsehole, or a wind up merchant, he just spouts the most deluded, naive bollocks that is often just so unrelentingly wrong.

Longhorn immediately trying to prove you wrong.

List the positives ...

[Ian Royal]

Top Flight has proven himself time and time again to be one of the worst posters on the team board (saying something).

He's not necessarily an arsehole, or a wind up merchant, he just spouts the most deluded, naive bollocks that is often just so unrelentingly wrong.

Longhorn immediately trying to prove you wrong.

List the positives ...

Already done a fair few, no need to immediately repeat myself.

[tmesis]

Valid - the one thing he's learnt since he's been away is that he's out of his depth and his blaming Terry Burton for the poor start done nothing to divert the spotlight from him ...

When did he blame Terry Burton for the poor start?

[Longhorn1970]

Valid - the one thing he's learnt since he's been away is that he's out of his depth and his blaming Terry Burton for the poor start done nothing to divert the spotlight from him ...

When did he blame Terry Burton for the poor start?

Shortly before he got his p45

[Ian Royal]

Valid - the one thing he's learnt since he's been away is that he's out of his depth and his blaming Terry Burton for the poor start done nothing to divert the spotlight from him ...

When did he blame Terry Burton for the poor start?

He hasn't, Longhorn's making things up. Especially given McDermott won his first and fourth games.

[Longhorn1970]

Valid - the one thing he's learnt since he's been away is that he's out of his depth and his blaming Terry Burton for the poor start done nothing to divert the spotlight from him ...

When did he blame Terry Burton for the poor start?

He hasn't, Longhorn's making things up. Especially given McDermott won his first and fourth games.

Next you'll be suggesting it was just a back room reshuffle !

[leon]

When did he blame Terry Burton for the poor start?

He hasn't, Longhorn's making things up. Especially given McDermott won his first and fourth games.

Next you'll be suggesting it was just a back room reshuffle !

What was it then, Mr ITK?