Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

10 posts   •   Page 1 of 1
User avatar
NewCorkSeth
Hob Nob Addict
Posts: 9519
Joined: 05 Jul 2013 00:17
Location: Wherever Nameless may be.

Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by NewCorkSeth » 30 May 2017 12:03

Apologies in advance for starting another thread.

I think it's a good idea to have a thread dedicated to analysing our season as a whole now that it is regrettably over.

Starting with Stam. Our new manager came in as a big name in the footballing world but more than a few fans were worried that his lack of Championship experience would prove to be his downfall. Add that to the bitter atmosphere on here due to our last two seasons performance and Brian's departure and it's fair to say he was entering a fractured environment.
In my opinion he did a fantastic job at stabilising the ship. He instilled a professional attitude amongst the squad which was crucial in overcoming blips along our season and keeping us focused over the course of the season.

Tactically I think for the most part Stam was spot on. As has been said by many "you don't finish 3rd for no reason". However he has received a degree of criticism for not having a solid plan b. His response to that criticism I believe was his insistence that we must continue with our strategy and the results will come. A mantra often stated after matches whether we won or lost.

Transfers in/transfers out
For a large part this was succesful.
Selling Tshibola and Norwood essentially paid for our transfers in last summer and it never felt like we were missing them throughout the season.
If we were to judge the club by their failures in the transfer market this season I think it's fair to say only Gravenberch and Wieser could really be called sub par at the moment although our loan market dealings in january were less than fruitful. I would mutch rather have seen Mendes or Meite filling that Grabban role in McClearys unfortunate annual injury crisis.

All in all this was a great season for Reading. We have a team with a solid spine. We have talent in depth and a large squad to work with over the summer. If we can all put away our rage tinted glasses for now I think we should all agree that it has been a very succesful season.
It is next season that will really test both Stam and the squad. He has to prove this wasn't an accident and hopefully we can finish false 2nd or false 1st next season.

Cureton's Volley
Hob Nob Regular
Posts: 1629
Joined: 08 Jan 2013 23:58

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by Cureton's Volley » 30 May 2017 13:00

Overwhelming positive; though regularly boring and too often lacking bollocks.

User avatar
Ian Royal
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 35156
Joined: 15 Apr 2004 13:43
Location: Playing spot the pc*nt on HNA?

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by Ian Royal » 30 May 2017 13:07

Bloody brilliant watching it pan out from afar. Thoroughly revitilising

User avatar
CountryRoyal
Hob Nob Super-Addict
Posts: 10697
Joined: 12 Aug 2011 13:44

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by CountryRoyal » 30 May 2017 13:34

Ian Royal Bloody brilliant watching it pan out from afar. Thoroughly revitilising


Maybe if you and your mum didn't come to the final we might have won.

Maybe get a refund on this ST too? :?

User avatar
Ian Royal
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 35156
Joined: 15 Apr 2004 13:43
Location: Playing spot the pc*nt on HNA?

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by Ian Royal » 30 May 2017 13:48

CountryRoyal
Ian Royal Bloody brilliant watching it pan out from afar. Thoroughly revitilising


Maybe if you and your mum didn't come to the final we might have won.

Maybe get a refund on this ST too? :?

There's a line in the T&Cs that they're non refundable now... Don't recall it being there last year, just the normal ticket stuff about returning it so far in advance of the game.

Not that I'd want to miss out again. Mum's now banned. By me I hasten to add, she wasn't trying to start a riot or anything.


User avatar
genome
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 25180
Joined: 08 Jul 2012 13:29
Location: Universe

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by genome » 30 May 2017 14:07

Anyone know roughly when ST's go back on sale and how big the price increase has been traditionally? I missed the previous window :oops:

Hound
Hob Nob Legend
Posts: 24935
Joined: 27 Sep 2016 22:16
Location: Simpleton

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by Hound » 30 May 2017 14:56

Brilliant season, massively surpassed expectations

Key now is obviously keeping Stam and reacting the right way to that play off defeat

He has put in place a potentially top class back 5 - Gunter, Ilori, Moore, Blackett and Obita - that will be as good as any in the division next year. AAH is a decent keeper and has another couple of years in him

The three young midfielders Kelly, Swift and Evans have all shown great potential and should all be better next year

Popa, McCleary and Beerens are all decent wingers.

Yann will do another good job next year

Some of the Fringe players need to step up a bit next year (ie Meite) and the likes of McShane, Joey and Quinn if he stays will be useful to have around

I think a years more experience and more confidence in the defence and the system, we will be a lot more entertaining next year

IMO Stam needs to be given money to buy as good a striker as will come - someone with pace and finishing ability - and we should be good for Top 6 again next year at the least

Royalwaster
Hob Nob Regular
Posts: 3600
Joined: 13 Jul 2004 13:32

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by Royalwaster » 30 May 2017 15:02

Need a pacy striker up front ... but maybe Rakels or Mendes can do a job?

3points
Hob Nob Regular
Posts: 2452
Joined: 27 Oct 2013 17:22

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by 3points » 30 May 2017 15:08

Royalwaster Need a pacy striker up front ... but maybe Rakels or Mendes can do a job?

cheeky bid for Afobe now he will be fourth choice at Bournemouth given their signing of Defoe?


alfie9
Member
Posts: 620
Joined: 06 Aug 2016 00:01

Re: Back From The Season - End of Season Thread

by alfie9 » 30 May 2017 15:40

Super season, but would rather have had the band-aid ripped off earlier rather than given hope of promotion and then coming within two kicks of it.

Stam, Tevreden, and the entire management staff have done a fantastic job. Hopefully they will stay on for at east another year, after all this is supposedly part of a 3-year plan. Stam showed an impressive level of tactical awareness for a first year manager, the way that we would often change personnel and change setup depending on the opposition was crucial to getting results, the coaching staff must have worked very hard behind the scenes to get it right. The guy is a fantastic manager and his future is at a higher level... but given one more year I think it can be with us.

Transfer wise, phenomenal. Last summer we required a massive rebuild, and the management team have built us a stable backbone to the squad. Only four of our signing flopped imo, two were short term loans (Mutch, Oxford) that were only required in case of an injury crisis, Gravenberch was signed before Stam/Ulderink, and Weiser was free and presumably is on a cheap contract. Even signings that looked dubious at the beginning of the season, like Mendes and VDB, really stepped up in the back half of the season and showed why they caught the management's eye. The signings of Moore and Ilori alone have ensured the future of this club. This time our best centerback options were Cooper and McShane, that's a hell of an upgrade. As for transfers out, 5 million seems like a bargain for Tish after his Villa career flopped and while Norwood probably would've done very well in Stam's system, Swift's signing, Kelly's introduction to the first team, and Evans's growth as a player have been more than adequate in covering his role.

So what next? Well, for starters, if our new Chinese overlords are serious about their ambitions for this club, a new long term contract offer for Stam is the first order of business. Meet his demands, whatever they may be. While Danny Williams is presumably on the most expensive contract of any of our players, he has shown this season that he is worth the investment. Unless he is asking for significantly more money, give him what he wants. The only major hole that needs to be filled in the transfer market this summer is the striker position imo. Kermie isn't getting any younger and will need support next season. Someone strong, fast, decent in the air, capable of playing as a lone striker or feeding off of Kermie in a front 2. We can do better than Grabban, and while I'd keep Mendes and Meite it still seems far too early to be relying on them. If Williams does go, we will obviously need to invest in filling his role (although I suspect Kelly could do that job). A few more signings for squad depth and we're there.

Despite us playing some drab stuff at times, this season has been a joy to watch. We're on our way back!

10 posts   •   Page 1 of 1

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Crusader Royal, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Hendo and 486 guests

It is currently 29 Mar 2024 11:59