Where was Guthrie again?!

[melonhead]

both directions are gambles.
but the man himsefl said it was a mistake that he regrets. thats all i need to know

[Millsy]

id say the "blame" for who made the decisions on budget in tehe summer is very much unclear, rather than crystal clear it was brian


the ten twelve million bids in january are simply a sign that the club as a whole reliased its mistake.
it says nothing about who made that original decision

Exactly.

We heard the same nonsense about Coppell having funds but choosing not to spend as we do now with Brian. We realised our mistake- Anton has admitted it - and so we went all out in January but it sadly wasn't to be.

I am not however blaming Anton or Sir John this time. If we go down its bad luck. As a fiercely critical Madejski basher for not spending even I thought our approach over the summer period was right - and I was someone who berated the club for not spending on other occasions!! I think we took a gamble that didn't pay off and no one is to blame for that. If anyone is to blame though it's ridiculous to suggest its Brian, who on many occasions has blatantly blamed lack of funds.

That 'rubbish' about Coppell not choosing to spend more money even though it was available came from the man himself though. He confirmed that he didn't sign 2 or 3 individuals because he didn't think it was necessary and they weren't any better than what we had.

I don't think luck really comes into it either. It's not unlucky that it took so long to get much impact from our summer signings. It's not luck that we threw away more points than anyone else from leading positions in the first few months of the season. It's not luck that we didn't seem to have any really effective tactical plan to get the best out of our resources. It certainly isn't luck that we played an unfit goalkeeper for the a handful of games which looks to have costs us some vital points.

I obvioulsy don't know how much it was Zingaravich or McDermott, or the balance of their joint decision, that set the budgets in the summer but I've made it pretty clear in the past that I think the majority of the fault was McDermotts. Why? Because he's the one who should be managing expectations with the board about what is needed. If he felt we needed more it's partly down to him to eek more out of what might be available. From everything I've heard or seen since my gut feeling is that he was pretty content with what he was given and wasn't pushing for more.

Won't go over the Coppell 'debate' again. The options he could have gone for as you say no better. An extreme example to make the point: if funding meant those options were Rooney/ Ronaldo then he'd have signed them.

True about luck- of course ike most things our problems are multifactorial. I'm just saying even people like me who would've been screaming for millions to be played out over the summer thought we did the right thing. It was unlucky that it didn't work out... Unlucky in a general sense of us getting it wrong and not being able to make it work!

Agree it's down to Brian to make some demands but this comes back to the same old debate if board v manager. Pardew, Burns and Gooding (several times on the radio) made it perfectly and emphatically clear where the blame lies. With coppell i have zero doubt and its a no brainer as far as im concerned. Debating it bores me tbh. But this is Anton so it s a different ball game. Perhaps he is more amenable to manager pressure? Who knows, we're just speculating. I'd bet a lot of money that he wouldn't have managed to get much more out of the board. Just speculation though.

[Millsy]

I agree HB, we have been close to being Effective, and as a result we are close to avoiding relegation. close is not good enough.

I would argue (I of course may be wrong, it's just the way I see it and your opinion is just as valid of course) that we have done well DESPITE our poor squad and BECAUSE of Brian.

Fiar enough, that's one way of looking at it. As I've said elsewhere though I really don't think it was a miracle of management from Brian that made our squad nearly competitive. I think there have been many mistakes made that hampered the team and ultimately cost us points in certain games and then subsequent ones as the pressure built and the losing habit deepened.

If McDermott had made all the right decisions and kept all his players happy, motivated, fit and on form then we might not've performed any better. I'd wager my mortgage that we would've been better off if he'd had the perfect campaign though, but we'll never know.

True. To say Brian is completely faultless is naive. How can a man who's never managed in the Prem be completely faultless? A perfect campaign would be perfect but thankfully for us noones campaign Is perfect and it's easy to be wise in hindsight.

[Wimb]

Our newest poster has taken a look at the Guthrie situation on TTE. If anybody wants to write a counter piece, be glad to host it.

http://www.thetilehurstend.com/2013/3/5 ... ny-guthrie

[AirRaidSiren]

He's a good player. He may not be 'great', but he's solid. It's funny how he was quite well thought of at Newcastle, then we bought him and half of Reading fans think he's dog shit.

Coincidence? No.

He was obviously bought under false pretences, hence his no-go to Sunderland.

Him and Akpan(who I didn't expect much from but looks a bloody good prospect) in midfield would look good

[andrew1957]

Our newest poster has taken a look at the Guthrie situation on TTE. If anybody wants to write a counter piece, be glad to host it.

http://www.thetilehurstend.com/2013/3/5 ... ny-guthrie

Article pretty much spot on IMO. I support Brian but Guthrie's exclusion in the last 4 is all but inexplicable. He was very good in January as I have said elswehere. He must play Saturday.

[AirRaidSiren]

Our newest poster has taken a look at the Guthrie situation on TTE. If anybody wants to write a counter piece, be glad to host it.

http://www.thetilehurstend.com/2013/3/5 ... ny-guthrie

Article pretty much spot on IMO. I support Brian but Guthrie's exclusion in the last 4 is all but inexplicable. He was very good in January as I have said elswehere. He must play Saturday.

I think it's a really crap decision to omit him from the squad from McDermott, Andrew.

Why on earth buy him in the first place?

I read this on FB about 15mins ago. I also think that the points contribution gained while he's been in the team has also been down to Pearce playing too.

[Ian Royal]

Our newest poster has taken a look at the Guthrie situation on TTE. If anybody wants to write a counter piece, be glad to host it.

http://www.thetilehurstend.com/2013/3/5 ... ny-guthrie

Article pretty much spot on IMO. I support Brian but Guthrie's exclusion in the last 4 is all but inexplicable. He was very good in January as I have said elswehere. He must play Saturday.

McDermott's gone back to 4-4-2. So he won't play, and arguably shouldn't in that formation. IMO even though we're crippled in 4-5-1 without Pog, we should have stuck with it and given ALF a chance to see if he can cope with it. I'm not saying play like we did with Pog and hoof the ball up high to the little man. It'd take some adaptation certainly. But it'd hardly be a step in the wrong direction and lets face it, we couldn't do much worse than we are at the moment. Hell even if it's Mr "Over-priced Mediocrity" Blackman up front and ALF comes on with 25 to go again it'd be better than the current dirge.

If we do play with 3 central midfielders - which is the only way we're likely to be pick up more than the odd flukey win (like Everton H) - we need one of them to be either Guthrie or McAnuff.

I find it incomprehensible that McDermott ditched the plan and team that produced by far our best performance of the season against Sunderland. A game we only conceeded in because of a stupid lunge in our box by a striker. A game which highlighted the sheer lunacy of playing 4-4-2 against them just weeks earlier in the season. And clean sheets are something we never even look like keeping in this league, let alone achieve.

[andrew1957]

Ian - I mainly agree that 4-5-1 is the way to go. Against Wigan it did not work (mainly because of the players selected - which was a bit of a mystery) but it was madness to try 4-4-2 at Everton and we lost again quite heavily. I think we have to go 4-5-1 against Villa for 65-70 minutes and then go 4-4-2 to push for the win assuming we are still in contention.

[The Rouge]

Ian - I mainly agree that 4-5-1 is the way to go. Against Wigan it did not work (mainly because of the players selected - which was a bit of a mystery)

I think you do football tactics a bit of a disservice with that bit of analysis.

[Maguire]

I think football fans overemphasise the importance of formations to be honest, as it's easier for them to boil the intricacies of football down in to Option A or Option B.

[Royal Lady]

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/readingfc/articles/2013/03/08/87355-reading-fc-boss-defends-decision-to-drop-danny-guthrie/

According to McD's interview in the Chronicle - Guthrie does appear to have been dropped due to the twitter picture of him on a football game with the For Sale sign. So, it appears he didn't have an injury - which we all knew all along.

He's saying Blackman and HRK came in against Everton and did well - that he has to choose 18 and some players are bound to be disappointed. Must say, I'm more disappointed in the fact that a petty argument or whatever can lead to dropping players who could be key at this stage of the season. I don't believe Guthrie is the messiah but I do think, even if he's on the bench, he's an option we can turn to if needed.

Brian also said on Sky Sports earlier that as long as he feels at the end of the season that we did all we could to give it a go, he's happy. I'm guessing he should be feeling very unhappy come the end of the season then.

[TBM]

due to the twitter picture of him on a football game with the For Sale sign.

What pic is this?

[AirRaidSiren]

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/readingfc/articles/2013/03/08/87355-reading-fc-boss-defends-decision-to-drop-danny-guthrie/

According to McD's interview in the Chronicle - Guthrie does appear to have been dropped due to the twitter picture of him on a football game with the For Sale sign. So, it appears he didn't have an injury - which we all knew all along.

He's saying Blackman and HRK came in against Everton and did well - that he has to choose 18 and some players are bound to be disappointed. Must say, I'm more disappointed in the fact that a petty argument or whatever can lead to dropping players who could be key at this stage of the season. I don't believe Guthrie is the messiah but I do think, even if he's on the bench, he's an option we can turn to if needed.

Brian also said on Sky Sports earlier that as long as he feels at the end of the season that we did all we could to give it a go, he's happy. I'm guessing he should be feeling very unhappy come the end of the season then.

If that's the case, Royal Lady, then it just shows how fickle McDermott is. In fact, it's pretty pathetic. Another white lie from him?

His stubbornness is really grating me.

[joeroyal]

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/readingfc/articles/2013/03/08/87355-reading-fc-boss-defends-decision-to-drop-danny-guthrie/

According to McD's interview in the Chronicle - Guthrie does appear to have been dropped due to the twitter picture of him on a football game with the For Sale sign. So, it appears he didn't have an injury - which we all knew all along.

He's saying Blackman and HRK came in against Everton and did well - that he has to choose 18 and some players are bound to be disappointed. Must say, I'm more disappointed in the fact that a petty argument or whatever can lead to dropping players who could be key at this stage of the season. I don't believe Guthrie is the messiah but I do think, even if he's on the bench, he's an option we can turn to if needed.

Brian also said on Sky Sports earlier that as long as he feels at the end of the season that we did all we could to give it a go, he's happy. I'm guessing he should be feeling very unhappy come the end of the season then.

If that's the case, Royal Lady, then it just shows how fickle McDermott is. In fact, it's pretty pathetic. Another white lie from him?

His stubbornness is really grating me.

He has been found out

[AirRaidSiren]

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/readingfc/articles/2013/03/08/87355-reading-fc-boss-defends-decision-to-drop-danny-guthrie/

According to McD's interview in the Chronicle - Guthrie does appear to have been dropped due to the twitter picture of him on a football game with the For Sale sign. So, it appears he didn't have an injury - which we all knew all along.

He's saying Blackman and HRK came in against Everton and did well - that he has to choose 18 and some players are bound to be disappointed. Must say, I'm more disappointed in the fact that a petty argument or whatever can lead to dropping players who could be key at this stage of the season. I don't believe Guthrie is the messiah but I do think, even if he's on the bench, he's an option we can turn to if needed.

Brian also said on Sky Sports earlier that as long as he feels at the end of the season that we did all we could to give it a go, he's happy. I'm guessing he should be feeling very unhappy come the end of the season then.

If that's the case, Royal Lady, then it just shows how fickle McDermott is. In fact, it's pretty pathetic. Another white lie from him?

His stubbornness is really grating me.

He has been found out

Yet again.

[Royal Lady]

He outed himself though - the interview with McD doesn't mention any hint of an injury, which is what he said the other week....I would have more respect for him if he said "I've dropped him because of his tweets/arguments with me over not playing/or whatever" rather than make up an injury to save face and then go back on that. Even if I don't agree with dropping a player for those reasons, at least he'd be being honest. His sky sports interview was crap. Basically saying he felt we'd done all we could wherever we end up next season. When, clearly, we haven't. Because he didn't play Feds due to a twitter comment, he didn't play Guthrie due to a twitter comment, there's a hint he's fallen out with Shorey - he's signed lower league players who have been thrown in at the deep end on occasion and a Sporting Lisbon player (who doesn't feature), there's a question mark over Roberts, he didn't fill gaps needed in January (imo) - so if he's happy with how he's conducting things, I'm disappointed in him tbh.

[Daniel_ElmPark1986]

Danny Guthrie needs to go he was AWFUL!! against Arsenal you can tell he has attitude by his style of play ! the pass that gave arsenal there 3rd goal done it for me ....

[72 bus]

Danny Guthrie needs to go he was AWFUL!! against Arsenal you can tell he has attitude by his style of play ! the pass that gave arsenal there 3rd goal done it for me ....

Don't worry, he will be gone in the close season.
Cannot wait TBH

[Royalclapper]

Danny Guthrie needs to go he was AWFUL!! against Arsenal you can tell he has attitude by his style of play ! the pass that gave arsenal there 3rd goal done it for me ....

In comparison to who?