A bit smug but he's ours - do we love him yet?

[AthleticoSpizz]

I will sleep well tonight

Thank you Ian

[Royal Rother]

Every faith in Nige'

Its the Russian that is yet to totally convince me

Really?
Unless and until I have good reason to feel otherwise ( ie abandonment ) I will continue to be a little in love with Anton. Just couldn't be more pleased with him so far. He didn't come in to the club like a bull in a china shop to assert him self, but instead gave Brian much more time than many owners would have and then appointed a very level headed replacement. He is hugely interested in his football, involved at all levels of the club - right down to grass roots - but seemingly ( who knows for sure ) not in an over bearing way. He appears to have ambition and a vision for the club, coupled with a boyish smile and enthusiasm and hopefully a man sized wallet. I know there will be the cynics on here who proclaim me to be gullible, but I think we are exceptionally lucky to have him.

Spot on for me.

Everything Anton has done in conducting himself since we heard he'd be taking over has impressed me.

I like pretty much everything I'm seeing in our management structure right now. I liked McDermott and I really appreciate what he's done for us. He's firmly in the two most successful managers we've ever had and deserves recognition for that. But I never really liked the footballing style direction he took us in and I feel much more comfortable and confident for our future with Adkins and Anton.

And again.

[maffff]

Can't add enough +1s to some of the recent posts. In for the Anton/Adkins love in. Very impressed and no reason to expect it to change.

[LightwaterRoyal]

What Ian said.

[winchester_royal]

It's pretty well known on here that I'm very much pro-Anton so my full agreement with Ian and Mumbo will come as no surprise..and to those criticising him, perhaps you should consider the position the club would be in had Anton not come in when he did.

His investment last January, which brought about the signings of Roberts, Connolly, Mullins, and Cywka, was crucial in our promotion bid and it's highly unlikely we'd have got promoted without it. Had we not been promoted last year, we'd have once again had to sell in order to cover the 5/6m loss we were making every year, and given we had few players who could have fetched >1m, it would have decimated any hope of a challenge the following season. Any promising young talent coming from the U18's would be sold as soon as they showed promise. We'd have been relying on cheap signings like Brett Williams and Karl Sheppard for goals, and probably have been looking at Oldham's impact sub as our marquee signing this summer. We'd have struggled to maintain any form of investment in the academy, and we sure as hell wouldn't have been looking at building a new training ground.

Look at the club now though, we appear to be on the verge of signing a guy who was one of the best young talents in Europe 5 years ago, and strongly rumoured to have bid twice our transfer record on a massively in-demand striker. We're pushing for Cat 1 status (which very few clubs have), and spreading the Reading FC brand globally. We have a manager who has an unparalleled record in the football league, and is looking to impose a more attractive style of football with a more talented group of players. This club is unrecognisable from the one we supported 18 months ago, and while I understand that scares people who enjoyed supporting 'little' Reading and acting like they had some sort of moral superiority over fans of other clubs, it should excite the vast majority.

[melonhead]

lol at unrecogniseable

[Maguire]

lol at unrecogniseable

+ 1 to the lol count

[Maguire]

Anton does seem to have his head screwed on, mind. Just interesting to see what he does this summer on the finance front. Will he lash millions at getting promoted (I expect so) or cling even if just a little bit to a common sense approach to wages etc.

[winchester_royal]

lol at unrecogniseable

lol at you lolling at a spelling mistake given your grammar

[melonhead]

was loling at the huge eggsadjuration, rather than spelling/grammer tbf

[melonhead]

Anton does seem to have his head screwed on, mind. Just interesting to see what he does this summer on the finance front. Will he lash millions at getting promoted (I expect so) or cling even if just a little bit to a common sense approach to wages etc.

is it still a common sense approach if you use the premiere league TV and parachute windfall to finance higher wages

[Sweet FA]

Really hope I end up loving AZ (already love Nige), but the jury is still out for me. I just find some of his soundbytes a little worrying, like the article in the EP a while back pretty much saying only winning the league will do. Terrified of becoming a club who sacks the boss at the first sign of a struggle and consequently struggle to achieve any of the targets. This summer/coming season could change the future of the club dramatically whatever happens.

[Maguire]

Anton does seem to have his head screwed on, mind. Just interesting to see what he does this summer on the finance front. Will he lash millions at getting promoted (I expect so) or cling even if just a little bit to a common sense approach to wages etc.

is it still a common sense approach if you use the premiere league TV and parachute windfall to finance higher wages

I dunno

[Extended-Phenotype]

Two top drawer signings under his belt, so that's what, 2-0 to Adkins.

[Royalee]

IN for Adkins on account of the fact he's not boring as hell, he can coach, his signings aren't crap and he actually shows ambition.

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

Really hope I end up loving AZ (already love Nige), but the jury is still out for me. I just find some of his soundbytes a little worrying, like the article in the EP a while back pretty much saying only winning the league will do. Terrified of becoming a club who sacks the boss at the first sign of a struggle and consequently struggle to achieve any of the targets. This summer/coming season could change the future of the club dramatically whatever happens.

listen mate, if anything AZ is a bit to loyal to managers. in all honesty he probably should have sacked BM a while ago but he said from the beginning of his reign that BM was going to be the manager and he stuck with it until he couldnt stick with it anymore. he was also very heartbroken over having to sack BM but it was the right business decision, if it was still SJM in charge we would have BM managing and wouldnt have been making any of these exciting changes to football style or these incredible signings. we would still be signing league one players for a pence. from all accounts AZ seems to be the perfect successor to SJM who will take us and establish us as a premier league side.

[melonhead]

BM could have made these signings given the money

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

BM could have made these signings given the money

maybe brendy, he had 2 transfer windows with AZ backing him fully and for one he decided not to spend big on players and it bit him in the ass. in the january window he tried to attract 2 big name players and neither came off.

NA on the other hand has in less than a month brought in two big names, one who has played for real madrid and one who has played for chelsea and who was voted in the team of the season for the championship last year.

i love brian a lot and i have massive respect for the guy but in a lot of ways NA is the better manager for where we want to be in the future, AZ made the tough but correct decision.

[maffff]

As appropriate here as anywhere

Exceptional summer so far

There has certainly been no downtime at Reading FC this summer!

Once a season ends there is often a quiet period for some clubs, but that has been far from the case at Madejski Stadium as we very much build for the future.

Since the tail end of last season there has been positive news throughout; ranging from signing agreements with hugely experienced players, to developments over a new training ground, players on the international stage and much more besides. There are many reasons to be cheerful for the season ahead if you are a Reading fan.

May
The month started with confirmation of an offer made in principle for a new training ground at Bearwood, which is a vital step for the club's future. Many clubs are developing their training grounds and a state of the art facility is vital for our continued progress.

Soon afterwards our under 18s reached the final of the Barclays Academy Premier League, ending what was arguably the best ever season in our Academy's history. And as we aim for Category One EPPP status, our youth setup's standing was furthered when Alex McCarthy was called into the full England squad and experienced games at Wembley and the incredible Maracana in Brazil. As his coach Sal Bibbo rightly said, all praise goes to Alex for his achievement.




Madejski Stadium crowds hit half a million during the month, and we offered contracts to six players at the end of the season: Stuart Taylor; Jonathan Henly, Lawson D'Ath, Nick Arnold, Matt Partridge and Shane Griffin. A few days later eight Academy players entered discussions about professional contracts.

June
Jake Cooper was the first to sign his deal early in the month, and the England youth player is very well respected in our Academy setup so it was important to tie him down. Nigel Adkins then set out his goals as our season ticket prices were sent to supporters, aiming for 'a fantastic season to be a Reading supporter.'

Further afield we strengthened links with Oman, while Ryan Edwards scored in a build-up game following his important call-up for Australia's under 20 squad; his World Cup adventure is set to begin in the coming days.

Then our first transfer of the summer hit the headlines as former England man Wayne Bridge agreed a 12-month contract, bringing with him experience of both the international stage and Champions League, while he was crucially in the Championship team of the year last season.




Another defender put pen to paper as Nick Arnold signed for a year and agreed to join Wycombe on loan; an important step in his development, while 'keeper Mikkel Andersen could play in the Europa League after a loan to Randers FC.

Then the Championship season's fixtures and new kit details were confirmed as the season draws ever closer - and indeed season ticket renewals close on 28th June so time is ticking to book your seat at the best possible price.

Amidst this, Anton Zingarevich set out his desire to win the League and the boss spoke of his aim to score goals and entertain.

Then all of the above was followed up by yet more exciting news as former Real Madrid man Royston Drenthe agreed to join, and Alex Pearce signed a new contract until 2015. The club's summer hashtag #BuildEvolveSucceed has never seemed more appropriate

Read more at http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... Rg0Bbrz.99

[melonhead]

BM could have made these signings given the money

maybe brendy, he had 2 transfer windows with AZ backing him fully and for one he decided not to spend big on players and it bit him in the ass. in the january window he tried to attract 2 big name players and neither came off.

NA on the other hand has in less than a month brought in two big names, one who has played for real madrid and one who has played for chelsea and who was voted in the team of the season for the championship last year.

i love brian a lot and i have massive respect for the guy but in a lot of ways NA is the better manager for where we want to be in the future, AZ made the tough but correct decision.

we don't know whose decision that was.and I've never heard of a manager who didn't want to spendmore money