The inevitable poll for the next Reading manager

[Sutekh]

Noel has gone. Whether the decision is right or wrong Reading need a new manager. Who is your choice from the options below (yes, I know, I’ve probably missed someone obvious).

[scumbag]

Charlie Wellens is quite young for a management position.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Wellens please - he just missed out on the Luton job so is clearly up for a new challenge and has probably taken Orient as far as he can.

Sutekh - change name though

[Getthebeerens]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

Ritchie Wellens would be a good appointment but cant see us paying compensation.

[RoyalBlue]

Oh dear, I hope the owners don't get people's names mixed up too,

We could end up with Charlie rather than Robbie Savage!

[WestYorksRoyal]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

Ritchie Wellens would be a good appointment but cant see us paying compensation.

What is wrong with Bloomfield's record?

[Sutekh]

Charlie Wellens is quite young for a management position.

Richie

Should be corrected now

[Clyde1998]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

This.

When he was sacked as Luton manager, their fans were basically saying the same things as a lot of our fans were saying about Hunt - too inexperienced; tactically naive; poor squad selections; poor performances; etc. Certainly doesn't seem worth sacking anyone to bring him in on the face of it.

[WestYorksRoyal]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

This.

When he was sacked as Luton manager, their fans were basically saying the same things as a lot of our fans were saying about Hunt - too inexperienced; tactically naive; poor squad selections; poor performances; etc. Certainly doesn't seem worth sacking anyone to bring him in on the face of it.

He had Wycombe flying, and he won 6 of Luton's final 12 last season and was unlucky to be relegated, despite them being firmly in the mire when he took over.

Anyone who doesn't see him as an upgrade on Hunt needs their head checked.

[MR. CYNICAL]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

This.

When he was sacked as Luton manager, their fans were basically saying the same things as a lot of our fans were saying about Hunt - too inexperienced; tactically naive; poor squad selections; poor performances; etc. Certainly doesn't seem worth sacking anyone to bring him in on the face of it.

He had Wycombe flying, and he won 6 of Luton's final 12 last season and was unlucky to be relegated, despite them being firmly in the mire when he took over.

Anyone who doesn't see him as an upgrade on Hunt needs their head checked.

That will be me then, agree that he's on a par with Hunt as regards age and managerial experience.
If he did so well at Luton, why did they sack him?

[WestYorksRoyal]

This.

When he was sacked as Luton manager, their fans were basically saying the same things as a lot of our fans were saying about Hunt - too inexperienced; tactically naive; poor squad selections; poor performances; etc. Certainly doesn't seem worth sacking anyone to bring him in on the face of it.

He had Wycombe flying, and he won 6 of Luton's final 12 last season and was unlucky to be relegated, despite them being firmly in the mire when he took over.

Anyone who doesn't see him as an upgrade on Hunt needs their head checked.

That will be me then, agree that he's on a par with Hunt as regards age and managerial experience.
If he did so well at Luton, why did they sack him?

Well they were 11th and only 3 points off the play offs, so doing substantially better than us. They also underwent a rebuild, so I'd say his sacking was harsh.

And looking at the bigger picture, he's got a good record at Colchester and Wycombe so has the capability. Hunt has never proven it. I'm sure he will have learned from Luton and it will make him a better manager.

You can't get an experienced manager with an unblemished record - they are at a higher level. You can choose experience with a failure or two on their CV, or someone who hasn't managed at this level before. It's a leap of faith either way.

For the record, Luke Williams is my preference. But Bloomfield is a good L1 manager.

[Getthebeerens]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

Ritchie Wellens would be a good appointment but cant see us paying compensation.

What is wrong with Bloomfield's record?

First of all I don’t like that when it looked like he was on the verge of success he ditched Wycombe for a relegation fight with Luton.

The previous seasons he finished mid table or their about. (Our fans would want him sacked after 10 games)

Why sack a manager to replace him with the same thing?

[WestYorksRoyal]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

Ritchie Wellens would be a good appointment but cant see us paying compensation.

What is wrong with Bloomfield's record?

First of all I don’t like that when it looked like he was on the verge of success he ditched Wycombe for a relegation fight with Luton.

The previous seasons he finished mid table or their about. (Our fans would want him sacked after 10 games)

Why sack a manager to replace him with the same thing?

Are we in mid table?

[Clyde1998]

If we end up appointing Matt Bloomfield I’d question the point of sacking Noel.

This.

When he was sacked as Luton manager, their fans were basically saying the same things as a lot of our fans were saying about Hunt - too inexperienced; tactically naive; poor squad selections; poor performances; etc. Certainly doesn't seem worth sacking anyone to bring him in on the face of it.

He had Wycombe flying, and he won 6 of Luton's final 12 last season and was unlucky to be relegated, despite them being firmly in the mire when he took over.

Anyone who doesn't see him as an upgrade on Hunt needs their head checked.

They were, but you could argue Noel Hunt had us flying between February and the end of last season - thirty-four points from eighteen matches (1.89 ppg). That was his second full season at Wycombe too - will he get to that stage?

Even having a look on the Wycombe forum for their views, they seem fairly lukewarm about him - the highest rated comment on the thread about us sacking Hunt is "I’m not sure anyone on here has any strongly held view either way to be honest".

Luton had a squad which shouldn't've been in a relegation battle to begin with, imo, and have underperformed with the squad they have this season.

Not sure he's shown a lot - results wise at least - to justify sacking Hunt to bring him in.

[Royalcop]

I think Bloomfield didn’t endear himself to Coughig in the way he quickly left for Luton after being entrusted with the manager position (reminiscent of Pardew and West Ham) so feels unlikely that they’d bring him here.

[Sutekh]

He had Wycombe flying, and he won 6 of Luton's final 12 last season and was unlucky to be relegated, despite them being firmly in the mire when he took over.

Anyone who doesn't see him as an upgrade on Hunt needs their head checked.

That will be me then, agree that he's on a par with Hunt as regards age and managerial experience.
If he did so well at Luton, why did they sack him?

Well they were 11th and only 3 points off the play offs, so doing substantially better than us. They also underwent a rebuild, so I'd say his sacking was harsh.

And looking at the bigger picture, he's got a good record at Colchester and Wycombe so has the capability. Hunt has never proven it. I'm sure he will have learned from Luton and it will make him a better manager.

You can't get an experienced manager with an unblemished record - they are at a higher level. You can choose experience with a failure or two on their CV, or someone who hasn't managed at this level before. It's a leap of faith either way.

For the record, Luke Williams is my preference. But Bloomfield is a good L1 manager.

Luke Williams? Relegated at Swindon and then got Notts back in the league but he obviously was managing a slightly better than average NL team at the time there so promotion would probably have been the least of expectations. At Swansea he was well out of his depth and left after losing 7 out of 9 games. Also he worked with Russell Martin so presume his managerial ethic is possession based playing out from the back which can well be suicidal as we’ve seen with clubs under RM when he refused to adapt. Certainly wouldn’t want to see that going on at Reading without significantly better players

[Getthebeerens]

What is wrong with Bloomfield's record?

First of all I don’t like that when it looked like he was on the verge of success he ditched Wycombe for a relegation fight with Luton.

The previous seasons he finished mid table or their about. (Our fans would want him sacked after 10 games)

Why sack a manager to replace him with the same thing?

Are we in mid table?

3 points of 12th with a lot of the season still to go.

[Clyde1998]

I think Bloomfield didn’t endear himself to Coughig in the way he quickly left for Luton after being entrusted with the manager position (reminiscent of Pardew and West Ham) so feels unlikely that they’d bring him here.

IIRC, Couhig had sold Wycombe by the time Bloomfield left there.

[Shev]

This.

When he was sacked as Luton manager, their fans were basically saying the same things as a lot of our fans were saying about Hunt - too inexperienced; tactically naive; poor squad selections; poor performances; etc. Certainly doesn't seem worth sacking anyone to bring him in on the face of it.

He had Wycombe flying, and he won 6 of Luton's final 12 last season and was unlucky to be relegated, despite them being firmly in the mire when he took over.

Anyone who doesn't see him as an upgrade on Hunt needs their head checked.

They were, but you could argue Noel Hunt had us flying between February and the end of last season - thirty-four points from eighteen matches (1.89 ppg). That was his second full season at Wycombe too - will he get to that stage?

Even having a look on the Wycombe forum for their views, they seem fairly lukewarm about him - the highest rated comment on the thread about us sacking Hunt is "I’m not sure anyone on here has any strongly held view either way to be honest".

Luton had a squad which shouldn't've been in a relegation battle to begin with, imo, and have underperformed with the squad they have this season.

Not sure he's shown a lot - results wise at least - to justify sacking Hunt to bring him in.

Wycombe fan here - the reason that quote is popular is that it is sarcastic....Wycombe fans who know what went on are furious he was pushed out of the club when promotion was in our grasp. The new owners kept telling Bloomfield he was not wanted, even from the summer, but did not want the bad optics of sacking a manager doing well. So they kept sacking staff out from under him, and using some absolutely baffling passive-aggressive (and outright aggressive) tactics to make him want to leave.

In the calendar year 2024, he gained 87 points from 45 games, and we did not really splash the cash till after he was ousted. He will be a brilliant manager for someone, but it is all about fit.

[Jackson Corner]

Whoever comes in will have their work cut out. You are only as good as your players. And this is a really poor group.
Feel for Hunt recruitment was left to late due to the takeover and we were left with dregs.