MATCHWATCH : Exeter City (h)

[Hound]

We’ve got heaps of big games coming up, but also a real chance to pull away from the drop zone.

I think it’s too early to say a corner has been turned personally. The same problems still remain. It is at least looking better though, and the players have given themselves a real chance to stay up. I hope it’s not undone by administration.

I'd say it has. one defeat in 9 games is 20% of the season, that's a long consistent run.

With only one clean sheet and 13 goals conceded. We’ve had to score 17 just to draw which is the equivalent 87 goals over a full league season.

In addition, we’ve won 4 in 9, to put that into perspective, remember we went on a run where we won 6 in 9 games last season. We were absolutely dreadful outside of it which is why 9 games isn’t enough. Keep this up for another 6/7 games then I may start agreeing that a corner has been turned.

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

[Snowflake Royal]

I'd say it has. one defeat in 9 games is 20% of the season, that's a long consistent run.

With only one clean sheet and 13 goals conceded. We’ve had to score 17 just to draw which is the equivalent 87 goals over a full league season.

In addition, we’ve won 4 in 9, to put that into perspective, remember we went on a run where we won 6 in 9 games last season. We were absolutely dreadful outside of it which is why 9 games isn’t enough. Keep this up for another 6/7 games then I may start agreeing that a corner has been turned.

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

[Royal_jimmy]

With only one clean sheet and 13 goals conceded. We’ve had to score 17 just to draw which is the equivalent 87 goals over a full league season.

In addition, we’ve won 4 in 9, to put that into perspective, remember we went on a run where we won 6 in 9 games last season. We were absolutely dreadful outside of it which is why 9 games isn’t enough. Keep this up for another 6/7 games then I may start agreeing that a corner has been turned.

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

This, no disrespect to the teams in league one but all of them even Pompey are very beatable and we should feel confident beating any of them at our place. Away is different and hopefully we can find a way to win games on the road. I'm pleased we're finally out of the drop zone and feel optimistic we'll be ok but beating Exeter at home is something we should expect every year. I do like how resilient we are though! Every time we concede we hit back and score again, I've not seen that in a Reading side for a while.

[MartinRdg]

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

This, no disrespect to the teams in league one but all of them even Pompey are very beatable and we should feel confident beating any of them at our place. Away is different and hopefully we can find a way to win games on the road. I'm pleased we're finally out of the drop zone and feel optimistic we'll be ok but beating Exeter at home is something we should expect every year. I do like how resilient we are though! Every time we concede we hit back and score again, I've not seen that in a Reading side for a while.

I think this month is very important as we have another three home league games and one away league game. Maybe seven points from those would be a good return? February is looking harder with two home games and three away games so need the points on the board in January.

[WestYorksRoyal]

With only one clean sheet and 13 goals conceded. We’ve had to score 17 just to draw which is the equivalent 87 goals over a full league season.

In addition, we’ve won 4 in 9, to put that into perspective, remember we went on a run where we won 6 in 9 games last season. We were absolutely dreadful outside of it which is why 9 games isn’t enough. Keep this up for another 6/7 games then I may start agreeing that a corner has been turned.

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

So 40 games is not sustained enough? I get Pauno had 1 good season and then it went to shit, Stam too and Clarke looked good for a long time. You'd have to go back to McDermott mk. 1 for a manager who has sustained good times for longer. But I think you need the club hierarchy to be operating well too. If you look at Stam, he lost Al-Habsi and Williams while Kermogant got a massive injury. The club spent money, but on mediocre players ill suited to his style and he was always going to struggle with that.

It also feels like goalposts are moving so people can remain "Selles Out". It was unanimous a couple of months ago that he should go, then he got a couple of good results and people (rightfully) said he needed to maintain it. Now it is a decent run of results, and Ian is already setting out his stall that even if he keeps this going until the end of the season it's still not enough .

Survival in L1 should not be celebrated; it's worse than the bare minimum. But, given where we were in November, it's a great achievement for any manager if we pull it off. If he's showing signs of learning on the job, isn’t that an argument for more time instead of continuing to judge him for a disastrous first 10 weeks or so?

[Franchise FC]

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

This, no disrespect to the teams in league one but all of them even Pompey are very beatable and we should feel confident beating any of them at our place. Away is different and hopefully we can find a way to win games on the road. I'm pleased we're finally out of the drop zone and feel optimistic we'll be ok but beating Exeter at home is something we should expect every year. I do like how resilient we are though! Every time we concede we hit back and score again, I've not seen that in a Reading side for a while.

I can get two replies for the price of one here

First, for Ian, when was the last time we had 40 (that’s forty) good games
I very much doubt we did that in the 106 season

Second, for Jimmy, what gives us any right to EXPECT to beat anyone in the same league as us. We’re there for a reason and it’s not because we’re inherently better than anyone in this league. Makes us sound like Man Utd fans

[YorkshireRoyal99]

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

This, no disrespect to the teams in league one but all of them even Pompey are very beatable and we should feel confident beating any of them at our place. Away is different and hopefully we can find a way to win games on the road. I'm pleased we're finally out of the drop zone and feel optimistic we'll be ok but beating Exeter at home is something we should expect every year. I do like how resilient we are though! Every time we concede we hit back and score again, I've not seen that in a Reading side for a while.

What's worth noting is there is a process to getting to that stage, where we can sustain results and performances consistently. You have to go through a shit period, possibly several, you do have to go through a good run of form etc. I wouldn't say I'm excited at the moment, but I'm encouraged to see that we are showing improvements. It's part of the process.

The big one will be when the change of ownership happens, I think that's when we can really begin to build something significant. But the on-field results also matter as well. Being in a higher division makes a difference as to what owner we get next.

[Stranded]

The big thing now that could either turn this season to shit again or end up with a being a season where we clamber up the table (to midtable or even top 10) is the away form.

Whilst we are naturally happy that we have stopped losing away, we still aren't winning. In fact Wycombe and Shrewsbury are the only games we have managed to even lead in since that win at Hull in Nov '22 - our next 3 away games are Wigan, Oxford and Fleetwood - if we are still searching for another win after those 3 then it will still be a long second half to the season and will put pressure on home games. Our next home games are mostly ones you would be targetting to win (Vale, Orient, Charlton - Derby the exception) but if we continue not to ge the odd win away, then those games become much much trickier as the pressure builds at home again.

[Snowflake Royal]

The corner has been turned, whether we take another wrong turn down useless street is more than possible though

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

So 40 games is not sustained enough? I get Pauno had 1 good season and then it went to shit, Stam too and Clarke looked good for a long time. You'd have to go back to McDermott mk. 1 for a manager who has sustained good times for longer. But I think you need the club hierarchy to be operating well too. If you look at Stam, he lost Al-Habsi and Williams while Kermogant got a massive injury. The club spent money, but on mediocre players ill suited to his style and he was always going to struggle with that.

It also feels like goalposts are moving so people can remain "Selles Out". It was unanimous a couple of months ago that he should go, then he got a couple of good results and people (rightfully) said he needed to maintain it. Now it is a decent run of results, and Ian is already setting out his stall that even if he keeps this going until the end of the season it's still not enough .

Survival in L1 should not be celebrated; it's worse than the bare minimum. But, given where we were in November, it's a great achievement for any manager if we pull it off. If he's showing signs of learning on the job, isn’t that an argument for more time instead of continuing to judge him for a disastrous first 10 weeks or so?

Set out my stall ahead of the season. I forget the exact bands, but 16th and below I'm pretty sure what just flat failure.

I'm also forward looking. Even if Selles does recover over a prolonged period in results, I have no faith he could take us to where we need to be next season, which is at least top 10, preferably top 6.

[Snowflake Royal]

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

This, no disrespect to the teams in league one but all of them even Pompey are very beatable and we should feel confident beating any of them at our place. Away is different and hopefully we can find a way to win games on the road. I'm pleased we're finally out of the drop zone and feel optimistic we'll be ok but beating Exeter at home is something we should expect every year. I do like how resilient we are though! Every time we concede we hit back and score again, I've not seen that in a Reading side for a while.

I can get two replies for the price of one here

First, for Ian, when was the last time we had 40 (that’s forty) good games
I very much doubt we did that in the 106 season

Second, for Jimmy, what gives us any right to EXPECT to beat anyone in the same league as us. We’re there for a reason and it’s not because we’re inherently better than anyone in this league. Makes us sound like Man Utd fans

Hmm, poor wording on my part. Not 20 /40 good games. But good form sustained over 20 / 40 games.

So, a manager who isn't just a one season wonder at best, but someone who can sustain the club's recovery over multiple seasons.

Like Pardew, like Coppell, like McDermott.

[Stranded]

I certainly ain't getting excited over 9 or 12 games.

We've had 20 or 40 good ones and still returned to utter shit.

I want to see results AND performances over a sustained period. And that needs to include more than the odd clean sheet and away win.

Sick of people getting excited about false dawns and results that should be minimum expectations.

So 40 games is not sustained enough? I get Pauno had 1 good season and then it went to shit, Stam too and Clarke looked good for a long time. You'd have to go back to McDermott mk. 1 for a manager who has sustained good times for longer. But I think you need the club hierarchy to be operating well too. If you look at Stam, he lost Al-Habsi and Williams while Kermogant got a massive injury. The club spent money, but on mediocre players ill suited to his style and he was always going to struggle with that.

It also feels like goalposts are moving so people can remain "Selles Out". It was unanimous a couple of months ago that he should go, then he got a couple of good results and people (rightfully) said he needed to maintain it. Now it is a decent run of results, and Ian is already setting out his stall that even if he keeps this going until the end of the season it's still not enough .

Survival in L1 should not be celebrated; it's worse than the bare minimum. But, given where we were in November, it's a great achievement for any manager if we pull it off. If he's showing signs of learning on the job, isn’t that an argument for more time instead of continuing to judge him for a disastrous first 10 weeks or so?

Set out my stall ahead of the season. I forget the exact bands, but 16th and below I'm pretty sure what just flat failure.

I'm also forward looking. Even if Selles does recover over a prolonged period in results, I have no faith he could take us to where we need to be next season, which is at least top 10, preferably top 6.

I have zero faith any manager will get us top 10 next year, as I literally have no idea what the squad will look like - currently we stand to lose the following in the summer:

Azeez
Abrefa
NGW
Rushesha
Abbey
Dorsett
Mola
McIntyre
Pereira
Hutchinson
Ehibhatiomhan

Possibly even Craig

So 3 members of the back 4 from Monday, our current main attacking threat, back up striker and possibly one of our current first choice midfield.

If Selles continues to improve the team and results (and performances are generally improving even though there have been some shockers too), then he should be supported.

[Stranded]

This, no disrespect to the teams in league one but all of them even Pompey are very beatable and we should feel confident beating any of them at our place. Away is different and hopefully we can find a way to win games on the road. I'm pleased we're finally out of the drop zone and feel optimistic we'll be ok but beating Exeter at home is something we should expect every year. I do like how resilient we are though! Every time we concede we hit back and score again, I've not seen that in a Reading side for a while.

I can get two replies for the price of one here

First, for Ian, when was the last time we had 40 (that’s forty) good games
I very much doubt we did that in the 106 season

Second, for Jimmy, what gives us any right to EXPECT to beat anyone in the same league as us. We’re there for a reason and it’s not because we’re inherently better than anyone in this league. Makes us sound like Man Utd fans

Hmm, poor wording on my part. Not 20 /40 good games. But good form sustained over 20 / 40 games.

So, a manager who isn't just a one season wonder at best, but someone who can sustain the club's recovery over multiple seasons.

Like Pardew, like Coppell, like McDermott.

I guess the big difference for all of those is they worked at a stable Reading FC, not one making staff redundant left right and centre, not paying bills to suppliers and cutting back on a lot of the expected "perks" of professional football. So they had the environment for success, if Selles can keep improving the team/results against the current backdrop, that has to be applauded but I understand why the doubt that he can do that is there.

[Snowflake Royal]

So 40 games is not sustained enough? I get Pauno had 1 good season and then it went to shit, Stam too and Clarke looked good for a long time. You'd have to go back to McDermott mk. 1 for a manager who has sustained good times for longer. But I think you need the club hierarchy to be operating well too. If you look at Stam, he lost Al-Habsi and Williams while Kermogant got a massive injury. The club spent money, but on mediocre players ill suited to his style and he was always going to struggle with that.

It also feels like goalposts are moving so people can remain "Selles Out". It was unanimous a couple of months ago that he should go, then he got a couple of good results and people (rightfully) said he needed to maintain it. Now it is a decent run of results, and Ian is already setting out his stall that even if he keeps this going until the end of the season it's still not enough .

Survival in L1 should not be celebrated; it's worse than the bare minimum. But, given where we were in November, it's a great achievement for any manager if we pull it off. If he's showing signs of learning on the job, isn’t that an argument for more time instead of continuing to judge him for a disastrous first 10 weeks or so?

Set out my stall ahead of the season. I forget the exact bands, but 16th and below I'm pretty sure what just flat failure.

I'm also forward looking. Even if Selles does recover over a prolonged period in results, I have no faith he could take us to where we need to be next season, which is at least top 10, preferably top 6.

I have zero faith any manager will get us top 10 next year, as I literally have no idea what the squad will look like - currently we stand to lose the following in the summer:

Azeez
Abrefa
NGW
Rushesha
Abbey
Dorsett
Mola
McIntyre
Pereira
Hutchinson
Ehibhatiomhan

Possibly even Craig

So 3 members of the back 4 from Monday, our current main attacking threat, back up striker and possibly one of our current first choice midfield.

If Selles continues to improve the team and results (and performances are generally improving even though there have been some shockers too), then he should be supported.

That was assuming new ownership.

Without new ownership its just a fight to survive and I'd have no faith in Selles achieving that with half our squad gone and limited recruitment.

Although without new ownership I still don’t think we start next season at all.

[Stranded]

Set out my stall ahead of the season. I forget the exact bands, but 16th and below I'm pretty sure what just flat failure.

I'm also forward looking. Even if Selles does recover over a prolonged period in results, I have no faith he could take us to where we need to be next season, which is at least top 10, preferably top 6.

I have zero faith any manager will get us top 10 next year, as I literally have no idea what the squad will look like - currently we stand to lose the following in the summer:

Azeez
Abrefa
NGW
Rushesha
Abbey
Dorsett
Mola
McIntyre
Pereira
Hutchinson
Ehibhatiomhan

Possibly even Craig

So 3 members of the back 4 from Monday, our current main attacking threat, back up striker and possibly one of our current first choice midfield.

If Selles continues to improve the team and results (and performances are generally improving even though there have been some shockers too), then he should be supported.

That was assuming new ownership.

Without new ownership its just a fight to survive and I'd have no faith in Selles achieving that with half our squad gone and limited recruitment.

Although without new ownership I still don’t think we start next season at all.

Even with new ownership, no guarantee many of those stay esp. the better performers - it should make life easier in attracting the better free agents/loans next summer granted but still hard to tell what the squad looks like.

Out of interest, what would Selles need to do for you to go, you know what - fair play to the bloke he's turned this round? If we go on to finish in the top 10?

[Snowflake Royal]

I have zero faith any manager will get us top 10 next year, as I literally have no idea what the squad will look like - currently we stand to lose the following in the summer:

Azeez
Abrefa
NGW
Rushesha
Abbey
Dorsett
Mola
McIntyre
Pereira
Hutchinson
Ehibhatiomhan

Possibly even Craig

So 3 members of the back 4 from Monday, our current main attacking threat, back up striker and possibly one of our current first choice midfield.

If Selles continues to improve the team and results (and performances are generally improving even though there have been some shockers too), then he should be supported.

That was assuming new ownership.

Without new ownership its just a fight to survive and I'd have no faith in Selles achieving that with half our squad gone and limited recruitment.

Although without new ownership I still don’t think we start next season at all.

Even with new ownership, no guarantee many of those stay esp. the better performers - it should make life easier in attracting the better free agents/loans next summer granted but still hard to tell what the squad looks like.

Out of interest, what would Selles need to do for you to go, you know what - fair play to the bloke he's turned this round? If we go on to finish in the top 10?

Stop doing stupid things. Get us playing better football, improve away form, sustain improved results til the end of the season. Start next seawon well

Been burned far too many times to give any leeway after his start, previous poor record and lack of relevant experience

[Hound]

So 40 games is not sustained enough? I get Pauno had 1 good season and then it went to shit, Stam too and Clarke looked good for a long time. You'd have to go back to McDermott mk. 1 for a manager who has sustained good times for longer. But I think you need the club hierarchy to be operating well too. If you look at Stam, he lost Al-Habsi and Williams while Kermogant got a massive injury. The club spent money, but on mediocre players ill suited to his style and he was always going to struggle with that.

It also feels like goalposts are moving so people can remain "Selles Out". It was unanimous a couple of months ago that he should go, then he got a couple of good results and people (rightfully) said he needed to maintain it. Now it is a decent run of results, and Ian is already setting out his stall that even if he keeps this going until the end of the season it's still not enough .

Survival in L1 should not be celebrated; it's worse than the bare minimum. But, given where we were in November, it's a great achievement for any manager if we pull it off. If he's showing signs of learning on the job, isn’t that an argument for more time instead of continuing to judge him for a disastrous first 10 weeks or so?

Set out my stall ahead of the season. I forget the exact bands, but 16th and below I'm pretty sure what just flat failure.

I'm also forward looking. Even if Selles does recover over a prolonged period in results, I have no faith he could take us to where we need to be next season, which is at least top 10, preferably top 6.

I have zero faith any manager will get us top 10 next year, as I literally have no idea what the squad will look like - currently we stand to lose the following in the summer:

Azeez
Abrefa
NGW
Rushesha
Abbey
Dorsett
Mola
McIntyre
Pereira
Hutchinson
Ehibhatiomhan

Possibly even Craig

So 3 members of the back 4 from Monday, our current main attacking threat, back up striker and possibly one of our current first choice midfield.

If Selles continues to improve the team and results (and performances are generally improving even though there have been some shockers too), then he should be supported.

Some of those will probably re-sign tbh. Even if Dai is still here

[Stranded]

Set out my stall ahead of the season. I forget the exact bands, but 16th and below I'm pretty sure what just flat failure.

I'm also forward looking. Even if Selles does recover over a prolonged period in results, I have no faith he could take us to where we need to be next season, which is at least top 10, preferably top 6.

I have zero faith any manager will get us top 10 next year, as I literally have no idea what the squad will look like - currently we stand to lose the following in the summer:

Azeez
Abrefa
NGW
Rushesha
Abbey
Dorsett
Mola
McIntyre
Pereira
Hutchinson
Ehibhatiomhan

Possibly even Craig

So 3 members of the back 4 from Monday, our current main attacking threat, back up striker and possibly one of our current first choice midfield.

If Selles continues to improve the team and results (and performances are generally improving even though there have been some shockers too), then he should be supported.

Some of those will probably re-sign tbh. Even if Dai is still here

Am sure some will - I know we have an option on Pereira, there may well be options built in to some of the other contracts too. Minimum we should be doing is offering deals on at least the same terms to any player u24 to ensure we get compensation if they do leave.

[Snowflake Royal]

One of our key weaknesses this season, on the pitch at least, has been lack of experience.

By the end of the season a lot of our players will have a solid number of starts, certainly appearances, compared to going into this season.

And so inexperience should be far less of a limiting factor.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I feel like this summer we managed to trick some quality L1 players into coming here. Bowen's rebuild, our shiny training ground, hopes of promotion. All proven to be misplaced hope.

If we have to replace players like Azeez and Abbey, don't expect players such as Wing, Smith and Knibbs to be queueing up this time (unless we get a new owner).

But then imagine a new owner scenario where we extend contracts we want and attract quality again (even with the transfer fee embargo). I'd probably say top 6 would be a fair target and increased pressure on Selles.

[Vision]

That was assuming new ownership.

Without new ownership its just a fight to survive and I'd have no faith in Selles achieving that with half our squad gone and limited recruitment.

Although without new ownership I still don’t think we start next season at all.

Even with new ownership, no guarantee many of those stay esp. the better performers - it should make life easier in attracting the better free agents/loans next summer granted but still hard to tell what the squad looks like.

Out of interest, what would Selles need to do for you to go, you know what - fair play to the bloke he's turned this round? If we go on to finish in the top 10?

Stop doing stupid things. Get us playing better football, improve away form, sustain improved results til the end of the season. Start next seawon well

Been burned far too many times to give any leeway after his start, previous poor record and lack of relevant experience

Tbf most of our false dawns have been managers starting ok and then turning to shit.

Perhaps he's bucking the trend by starting abysmally then gradually improving