Will a change of boss at Reading make any difference at all?

Can a new boss do any better at Reading than Brian McDermott?

Earlier this week Reading sacked boss Brian McDermott.

Unfortunately due to our coverage of the European games taking place I didn’t get chance to cover the story and I apologise for that. However I feel the need to address it now.

Outstanding

I have to say that Brian McDermott did an outstanding job considering the resources he had at his disposal.

The former-scout managed Reading to promotion to the Premier League and without much financial support.

The Royals have consistently lost their best players in recent summers, think Shane Long, Kevin Doyle and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Yet McDermott against all odds got the Royals into the top flight.

Championship

Reading look like a Championship team at the moment and that’s probably where they will be next season.  Their team is full of players from the lower leagues and at times it has shown this season.

Promises

When the Royals won promotion they never really invested in quality players. I’m not an expert on the matter, but didn’t the new owners promise to spend money on players when they bought the club?

The likes of Hope Akpan, Neil Blackman, Stephen Kelly and Daniel Carrico arrived in January, no offence to the players or Reading, but they are not exactly going to keep you in the Premier League.

The Akpan and Blackman may develop into good players, but they are not yet Premier League players, as proven by the fact that they were considered not good enough by Everton and Blackburn respectively.

In January Reading needed to give McDermott some proper money to spend if the club was going to stay in the top flight. The club spent £3.5million in January and brought in those players because they were the only players that the Reading boss was able to bring in on his meagre transfer budget.

No doubt the players could prove an asset in the Championship next season. However, the team needed players that could prove an asset in the Premier League this season and help the club stay up.

Surprised

I have to say I was very surprised when Reading got promoted to the Premier League. It is a testament to the hard work of Brian McDermott and his coaching that the team got promoted.

Reading punched well above their weight with the team they had and I’m sure even Royals supporters were surprised by promotion.

Replacements

The names that are being bandied around to replace McDermott wouldn’t inspire confidence in me if I were a Reading fan. Former-West Ham striker Paulo Di Canio did a great job at Swindon, before deciding to quit.

The Italian is the current favourite for the Reading job, but I really don’t see the sense in appointing a manager that has no Premier League experience. The Royals are now also being linked with a move for former-player Phil Parkinson.

The 45 year-old performed a miracle by guiding League Two Bradford City to the Capital One Cup final, but again has only ever managed in the lower leagues.

The other name being touted is that of former-Southampton boss Nigel Adkins. I don’t think he would be a bad choice to be honest. He was rather harshly dismissed by Southampton and deserves another chance in the top flight, albeit just for a few months.

Impossible

I think that whoever takes over at Reading has a near impossible task of keeping the Royals in the Premier League. Tomorrow evening the Royals face a trip to league leaders Manchester United.

Their next game is another difficult trip, this time to the Emirates to face Arsenal. By the time a new manager comes in it may be too late to make any difference to the Royals plight.

I think most Reading fans would accept that the quality of the team and squad are not good enough. I really don’t think that is Brian McDermott’s fault, because he has only been working with what he’s been given.

I’m sure the boss would have loved to have brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Radamel Falcao, but unfortunately Reading has to live within their means.

A new manager won’t change that and Brian McDermott can feel very unfortunately not to be given until the end of the season.

Will a change of boss at Reading make any difference at all?