Clarke interview on Goals on Sunday

[Top Flight]

yawn zzzzzzzzz

[Sutekh]

Kermit the frog = BM signing = Been shit
Rakels = Not a BM signing = Been good

Ian Harte = BM signing = was good
Adam Le Fondre = BM signing = was good

So your point is rather

[Hoop Blah]

I honestly don't think it's fair to judge Clarke on the results by November. You need at least a full season to sort out your own team and get them playing how you want.

Although I generally agree with giving managers time to build a squad etc, sometimes it's obvious that they're onthe wrong track or just don't fit the make up of the club.

Time can help a manager get things right but Clarke didn't need more time, he needed to make more right decisions have us moving in the right direction.

The bottom line is that Brian has inherited a complete shambles. If you think it can be fixed in a couple of months you're mad. There is no manager that can fix the mess inside 3 months. Not Mourinho, not sir Alex, not even Pep Guardiola. If Terry Bullivant was our manager right now, I'd be arguing that he needs time to fix a shambolic mess.

Whether we move forward or not next season doesn't only depend on Brian. He is important, but he can only make it happen with support from the owners, the players, the supporters and the media. Let's get behind Brian and support the team to success. Or did you want him out?

Same can be said for Brain really. He's done alright so far at steadying the ship and addressing some of the problems we were facing. He's a long way off making a success of this stint so far and we've not progressed as much as we should've done by now, regardless of the constraints placed upon him.

More time? Not his squad? Both Clarke and Brian have had a chance to stamp their authority on this squad but, so far, neither have quite got it right. The likes of Warnock, Hughton, Rowett, Klopp and Hiddink, amongst others, have shown it's possible to have a more positive effect on their sides in relative short amounts of time.

As for Clarkes interview, well there's nothing too surprising there is there? He's not going to get on Sky TV and admit he wasn't good enough to handle the situation and ended up building a squad that didn't have the right balance and then made numerous bad choices that resulted in him getting the sack.

[genome]

Kermit the frog = BM signing = Been shit
Rakels = Not a BM signing = Been good

Ian Harte = BM signing = was good
Adam Le Fondre = BM signing = was good

So your point is rather

Indeed. Manager in making good and bad signings shocker. Kermit's not even been that bad.

I like the look of George Evans too, I think he'll really come on next year.

[Maneki Neko]

we've not progressed as much as we should've done by now, regardless of the constraints placed upon him.

this is nonsense isnt it?
how much progress 'should' have been made?

[Hoop Blah]

we've not progressed as much as we should've done by now, regardless of the constraints placed upon him.

this is nonsense isnt it?
how much progress 'should' have been made?

More.

[Maneki Neko]

ok..........


so for you there there is just a definitive time cut off for success criteria in football management, that isnt influenced by the state of the club, financial backing, or any other possible mitigation?










lol

[Hoop Blah]

I just think that he did the easy initial bit of tightening us up at the back, getting players more together after the apparent disharmony and disruption of the last few weeks/months of Clarke's tenure, and getting some fight and passion back into them as they look to impress their new boss.

Have we really kicked on since though? Has he really developed a coherent pattern of play or identity as he did with his previous teams? Has he really got any players performing any better than they were whilst sulking and being played out of position/in an unbalanced side under Clarke?

I'd say the answer to all of those questions are No. For me he should've shown us more improvement in both a few individuals as well as the whole team.

I understand there are some restrictions in terms of the personnel we have, their dedication to the cause and the manager, but a big part of management is dealing with those factors and getting something out of the team despite them.

[Maneki Neko]

Has he really got any players performing any better than they were whilst sulking and being played out of position/in an unbalanced side under Clarke?

disagree massively.

[Hoop Blah]

I've not mentioned a time cut off, I'm just saying we probably should've seen more of a positive impact from McDermott so far.

We have enough talent in this squad to have produced better results since he took over. That hasn't happened and that means he's not maximised the resources available to him.

I'm not suggesting he won't fix that over the summer, just that I'd hoped for more.

[Hoop Blah]

Has he really got any players performing any better than they were whilst sulking and being played out of position/in an unbalanced side under Clarke?

disagree massively.

Go on then...

[Maneki Neko]

i just did!


not sure its worth compiling a list. im not trying to convince you
to me its pretty obvious. but you watch the same games as me, if you've not noticed any, then me listing names isnt going to do it.

[Maneki Neko]

I've not mentioned a time cut off, I'm just saying we probably should've seen more of a positive impact from McDermott so far.

We have enough talent in this squad to have produced better results since he took over. That hasn't happened and that means he's not maximised the resources available to him.

I'm not suggesting he won't fix that over the summer, just that I'd hoped for more.

imo you underplay the mess the club and playing squad is in
and overplay the quality of that squad

but that's up to you
again, im not trying to convince anyone

[stealthpapes]

I just think that he did the easy initial bit of tightening us up at the back, getting players more together after the apparent disharmony and disruption of the last few weeks/months of Clarke's tenure, and getting some fight and passion back into them as they look to impress their new boss.

Have we really kicked on since though? Has he really developed a coherent pattern of play or identity as he did with his previous teams? Has he really got any players performing any better than they were whilst sulking and being played out of position/in an unbalanced side under Clarke?

I'd say the answer to all of those questions are No. For me he should've shown us more improvement in both a few individuals as well as the whole team.

I understand there are some restrictions in terms of the personnel we have, their dedication to the cause and the manager, but a big part of management is dealing with those factors and getting something out of the team despite them.

I think the FA cup and then inevitable mid-table finish has rather done for any sense of drive or purpose in the club this season.

It could have been better. It wasn't.

[Maneki Neko]

I think the FA cup and then inevitable mid-table finish has rather done for any sense of drive or purpose in the club this season.

agreed-

more mitigation for the defence yr honour

[Hoop Blah]

I wouldn't disagree with that, the distraction of the Cup run is a mitigating factor for some results and perhaps a handful of performances.

Personally I wouldn't give it much weight as a factor in the general lack of progression and building though. If anything that carrot of cup glory could've been used to galvanise the team. I don't think we really saw that though, we just saw a handful of better performances in the cup but no real direction or purpose over the last 5 months, apart from perhaps the last few games where McDermott has been looking at this new system of play.

[Hoop Blah]

imo you underplay the mess the club and playing squad is in
and overplay the quality of that squad

but that's up to you
again, im not trying to convince anyone

I'm not looking to convince anyone either, just wondered what you were basing your opinion on because I can't think of a single player who's performed better for McDermott than they did for Clarke, apart from Al Habsie that is.

McDermott shook them out of their collective malaise of October/November but I'm not sure any individual has played any better, consistently that is.

The team has been more solid and better balanced as McDermott got them working a bit harder but, more importantly, sorted out the balance in the side that Clarke had totally lost.

[Maneki Neko]

yeah, so its a bit pointless, if im not trying to convimce you, and you've watched the same games as me, and not only not seen any improvement, but seen such a complete lack of improvement anywhere as to feel the needc to make comment on it.




but since all internet forming is an excersise in brickwall headbutting.......
ive seen improvements in:
gunter, alhabsi, hector. and that's just from the back 5
Cox
under Clarke I used to do my nut if piazon was playing, but under brian I think he may have the potential to make it
midfield has always functioned pretty well, so nothing noticeable there. (apart from a dip in norwoods form when hector plays at the back of the diamond)

[No Fixed Abode]

Kermit the frog = BM signing = Been shit
Rakels = Not a BM signing = Been good

Ian Harte = BM signing = was good
Adam Le Fondre = BM signing = was good

So your point is rather

Ian Harte and Le Fondre don't play for Reading any more

[taipairoyal]

I didn't see his interview but it does show I guess based on your comments that the manager is working in a very difficult environment. A lot of our problems stem more from poor leadership from the very top. Not from the team managers position. In this kind of environment, I wouldn't want anyone other than Brian managing the team. Brian is a true character. Weaker men like Clarke are ready to jump ship at the first sign that things won't be easy.

Brian kept improving us year after year despite having to sell the best players each transfer window. Brian thrives in adversity. Useless whingers like Clarke just try to walk away. We need someone with loyalty and some backbone right now and Brian is our man. Long live Brian.

Thats a good post.