New Manager

[Lower West]

To sack him two days before what was a huge but winnable game,

Clutching at straws. Seen so many inept performances in the past 12 months. That only way forward is to rebuild for the future.

[alfie9]

I wonder if those responsible for sacking Clement last week have admitted in past eight days “We’ve made a big mistake - we shouldn’t have sacked Paul Clement. “

With Plan A falling through and seemingly no Plan B, the club have messed things up and have incredibly made the team weaker than they were before. Didn’t think that was possible.

To sack him two days before what was a huge but winnable game, and now leave us rudderless ahead of big away games against Rotherham and Millwall they have practically relegated us.

Total shambles!

He still deserved to get sacked. The failure to get Luis Castro (who they thought was a done deal) doesn't make the decision any less justified.

[Crowbar6753]

I understand the delay in naming a new manager and the fact that it looks like we had no plan B when Castro turned us down which makes the club look a little stupid, but we do have a very good caretaker manager in place and Scott Marshall has done wonders which the U23 team and just maybe this might have been the thinking behind the having no plan B situation?
Scott is well respected, has the U23s playing good attractive football and a winning mentality. Yes, i get that its the first team we are taking about here, who have played pants for ages now, but i'm fairly confident they are in good hands. And how many times have caretaker managers actually gone on and gave a good account of themselves and have been given the job on a permanent basis or at least till the end of the season.

[Lower West]

I understand the delay in naming a new manager and the fact that it looks like we had no plan B when Castro turned us down which makes the club look a little stupid,

Castro wasn't even interviewed for the job. Let alone offered it. People being approached is part and parcel of football. The fact that the owners are taking their time is refreshing. Far too easy to panic and appoint someone because they can start tomorrow. We need the right person.

[Hendo]

He doesn't work for the Chronicle, he's not a journalist......

Freelance journalist still means you’re a journalist.

He isn't that either. He works for South East Water. Try again.

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/auth ... ey_Friday/

Funny how he’s still listed on their website as a reporter and has written articles for them. Guess you can be two things. Who knew?

[royalp-we]

I wonder if those responsible for sacking Clement last week have admitted in past eight days “We’ve made a big mistake - we shouldn’t have sacked Paul Clement. “

With Plan A falling through and seemingly no Plan B, the club have messed things up and have incredibly made the team weaker than they were before. Didn’t think that was possible.

To sack him two days before what was a huge but winnable game, and now leave us rudderless ahead of big away games against Rotherham and Millwall they have practically relegated us.

Total shambles!

He still deserved to get sacked. The failure to get Luis Castro (who they thought was a done deal) doesn't make the decision any less justified.

Nail on the head.

The whole place is toxic. Why keep Clement if he’s shown barely any improvement and the support is pony. The shambles would have been leaving it too late to sack Clement, like we very almost did with Stam. We were oxf*rd lucky to stay up last season.

FairPlay to the board for actually saying get out now to Gourlay, Nani and Clement. We would have been relegated with a whimper.

Surely nobody has enjoyed the football we’ve served up in the Madejski over the past 12 months. You need help if you did. Take what journos day with a pinch of salt, back the new manager and enjoy the oxf*rd matchday again!

[leon]

Apparently all the players hated Clement, from what I’ve heard,

That said they hardly showered themselves in glory once he’d gone.

[sandman]

They liked Stam, which didn't manage to save him either. Maybe it doesn't matter who they like or don't like, they just need to get on with the job they're paid to do.

[10539.4 Miles Away]

They liked Stam, which didn't manage to save him either. Maybe it doesn't matter who they like or don't like, they just need to get on with the job they're paid to do.

oxf*rd powerpost.

[Old Man Andrews]

Apparently all the players hated Clement, from what I’ve heard,

That said they hardly showered themselves in glory once he’d gone.

Heard it was the same at Derby. Think you have to be very careful as a coach not to be too arrogant if you've never done it as a player. The players you're coaching won't respect you if you walk around like Billy Big Bollocks if you've done oxf*rd all in your playing career. Lampard and Gerrard can afford to be like that if they wish. Paul Clement cannot. I reckon he also thought the players he coached were a bit beneath him to. He has worked with the finest players in world football with Carlo Ancelloti and it's a huge downgrade to then coach Paul McShane day in and day out. Maybe the players picked up on that.

[SCIAG]

Apparently all the players hated Clement, from what I’ve heard,

That said they hardly showered themselves in glory once he’d gone.

Have heard similar. Apparently Clement liked to play them clips of matches he'd won at other clubs and some of the senior players found this rather arrogant.

Should say that I initially heard this when we went through that really dreadful spell about a month into the season, and since then things have been much better on the pitch, so perhaps "losing the dressing room" isn't as fatal as we assume.

[Hound]

Tbf they didn’t seem to upset when he left. My guess is Howe chatted to the players and that had an influence on the decision to sack him

However, I thought the players did seem to respond to him at times, and he rarely threw people under the bus in interviews, when he often could have (McShane at Blackburn a particular example)

[Snowflake Royal]

To sack him two days before what was a huge but winnable game,

Clutching at straws. Seen so many inept performances in the past 12 months. That only way forward is to rebuild for the future.

That's what Clement was doing, with an eye to the present.

[leon]

They liked Stam, which didn't manage to save him either. Maybe it doesn't matter who they like or don't like, they just need to get on with the job they're paid to do.

I think Stam was too soft and our fitness suffered as a result. There needs to be a balance but a manager can’t be everyone’s mate.

[Eaststandman]

Player power at many clubs invariably is disruptive and toxic, leading to poor performance and disharmony. Sound familiar? I'm not convinced that managers are always the problem, but they are always responsible!

[Lower West]

To sack him two days before what was a huge but winnable game,

Clutching at straws. Seen so many inept performances in the past 12 months. That only way forward is to rebuild for the future.

That's what Clement was doing, with an eye to the present.

Summer transfer business on reflection was extremely poor. Without a resurgent Meite where would we be now.

[Elm Park Kid]

Player power at many clubs invariably is disruptive and toxic, leading to poor performance and disharmony. Sound familiar? I'm not convinced that managers are always the problem, but they are always responsible!

I agree. Given the value of players and the wages you have to pay, regardless of whether they play or not, owners can't afford to upset them. Managers really are just coaches now rather than gaffers.

It's why I take a bit of a detached attitude to Reading now. No matter what the club does it's can't bring back the old 'rules' of how football should be run. I'm not really interested in watching a billionaire pump money into the club so that we can have lots of diva, celebrity footballers.

[RoyalBlue]

They liked Stam, which didn't manage to save him either. Maybe it doesn't matter who they like or don't like, they just need to get on with the job they're paid to do.

I think Stam was too soft and our fitness suffered as a result. There needs to be a balance but a manager can’t be everyone’s mate.

Did he have a personality transplant? Given how he was in his playing career, I would be really surprised if he then turned soft. I would expect more a case of firm/hard but fair. I suspect players knew where they stood with him and I wonder whether that was ever the case with Clement.

[Pepe the Horseman]

The way things are going I'm thinking Marshall will get it till the end of the season, then we'll look at our options again in the summer, depending on what division we're in.

[Denver Royal]

Apparently all the players hated Clement, from what I’ve heard

Heard it was the same at Derby. Think you have to be very careful as a coach not to be too arrogant if you've never done it as a player. The players you're coaching won't respect you if you walk around like Billy Big Bollocks if you've done oxf*rd all in your playing career. Lampard and Gerrard can afford to be like that if they wish. Paul Clement cannot. I reckon he also thought the players he coached were a bit beneath him to. He has worked with the finest players in world football with Carlo Ancelloti and it's a huge downgrade to then coach Paul McShane day in and day out. Maybe the players picked up on that.

Good post.
Yeah, if he ticked the players off, it likely wouldn't be too far from there to 'Leave it out m8, you never even played pro footy!' responses/thoughts, either individually or as a group.

Wonder if that was maybe (part of) the reason they felt the need to sign O'Shea (which none of us could really understand, at least at the time)?