February

[John Smith]

February is fast approaching could really be pivotal to our season as a whole. How do you think we'll fare?

Millwall (h)
Middlesbrough (a)
Sheffield United (h)
Nottingham Forest (a)
Derby County (h)

[Old Man Andrews]

February is fast approaching could really be pivotal to our season as a whole. How do you think we'll fare?

Millwall (h)
Middlesbrough (a)
Sheffield United (h)
Nottingham Forest (a)
Derby County (h)

I thnk we will beat Millwall and Sheffield United, draw with Derby and two defeats against Forest and Middlesbrough.

[tee peg]

Draw with Sheffield and Millwall and loose the rest.

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

Beat Millwall at home and then oxf*rd up the rest.

[Hound]

beat Milwall and draws against Sheff and Forest my guess.

[leon]

I can see us losing every game.

[Longhorn1970]

All great teams according to Jaap ..

[Old Man Andrews]

All great teams according to Jaap ..

They certainly all work hard and don't make things easy for you.

[loyalroyal4life]

6 points

[Longhorn1970]

All great teams according to Jaap ..

They certainly all work hard and don't make things easy for you.

Are we talking greatness ?!

[Old Man Andrews]

All great teams according to Jaap ..

They certainly all work hard and don't make things easy for you.

Are we talking greatness ?!

We are talking greatness but only in certain situations once certain qualities are displayed.

[John Smith]

Can we get this thread going a bit more please - it's now looking like we might be involved in a relegation fight if this month doesn't go at least averagely well for us. Let's see who the optimists and realists are among you lot.

[andrew1957]

According to Stam every team in the division has a better squad than us and so I don't see how we can possibly expect the players to get any points this month or indeed any points for the rest of this season. I am sure we should agree with him that as fans we expect far too much. We should be really grateful to watch appalling boring football each week and not to win or even draw many if any games.

Roll on next season for installment 3 of this excellent 5 year plan. By then we should be top of the National League all being well.

[Denver Royal]

'According to Stam every team in the division has a better squad than us'.

'They are all great teams according to Jaap'.

Hey, can someone link specifically to these exact quotes and words, please. I'm not saying he never said it, I'd just like to see the context, the interview, etc. Thanks much!

[windermereROYAL]

'According to Stam every team in the division has a better squad than us'.

'They are all great teams according to Jaap'.

Can someone link specifically to these exact quotes and words, please. I'm not saying he never said it, I'd just like to see the context, etc. Thanks much!

Hard to believe he would ever say that TBH.

[Victor Meldrew]

'According to Stam every team in the division has a better squad than us'.

'They are all great teams according to Jaap'.

Hey, can someone link specifically to these exact quotes and words, please. I'm not saying he never said it, I'd just like to see the context, the interview, etc. Thanks much!

Part of his post-game interview on Saturday with Dellor.
The quotes are not verbatim but he definitely said that other teams had improved this season , conveniently forgetting the money spent and players brought in by Reading who, presumably, were meant to improve a squad that finished 3rd last season.

[Denver Royal]

Part of his post-game interview on Saturday with Dellor.
The quotes are not verbatim but he definitely said that other teams had improved this season , conveniently forgetting the money spent and players brought in by Reading who, presumably, were meant to improve a squad that finished 3rd last season.

So, they aren't verbatim? Well, do you feel its irresponsible to misquote and twist words and that it isn't particularly helpful? I'd much rather know what he actually said verbatim, and the context, rather than it be misrepresented. But hey, maybe that's just me.

Also, if he said - or indeed anyone said - that they think other teams have improved this season...how does that mean they have forgotten what we spent?

And of course, any transfers, by any clubs, are intended to improve the respective team(s). But as we know, they don't always pan out. In fact, most don't(?). There's always a risk. And, quite how much Stam had to with those transfers...either the player(s), the transfer fee that was negotiated and agreed, salaries, etc, I'm not sure on.

Anyway, while we are at, can someone please quote verbatim what he actually said that was so offensive to 'the fans'? Thanks.

[Victor Meldrew]

Part of his post-game interview on Saturday with Dellor.
The quotes are not verbatim but he definitely said that other teams had improved this season.

They aren't verbatim? Well, do you feel its irresponsible to misquote and twist words and that it isn't particularly helpful? I'd much rather know what he actually said verbatim, and the context, rather than it be misrepresented, but hey, maybe that's just me.

Also, if he - or indeed anyone - says they think other teams have improved this season...how does that mean they have forgotten what we spent?

While we are at, can someone please quote verbatim what he actually said that was offensive to 'the fans'? Thanks.

Presumably it's on their website at BBC Berks and/ or the RFC official site.
Btw this is not a court of law.

[andrew1957]

Part of his post-game interview on Saturday with Dellor.
The quotes are not verbatim but he definitely said that other teams had improved this season , conveniently forgetting the money spent and players brought in by Reading who, presumably, were meant to improve a squad that finished 3rd last season.

So, they aren't verbatim? Well, do you feel its irresponsible to misquote and twist words and that it isn't particularly helpful? I'd much rather know what he actually said verbatim, and the context, rather than it be misrepresented. But hey, maybe that's just me.

Also, if he said - or indeed anyone said - that they think other teams have improved this season...how does that mean they have forgotten what we spent?

And of course, any transfers, by any clubs, are intended to improve the respective team(s). But as we know, they don't always pan out. In fact, most don't(?). There's always a risk. And, quite how much Stam had to with those transfers...either the player(s), the transfer fee that was negotiated and agreed, salaries, etc, I'm not sure on.

Anyway, while we are at, can someone please quote verbatim what he actually said that was so offensive to 'the fans'? Thanks.

Sorry if sarcasm offended you.

I am afraid I cannot say what he said word for word but the gist was that although RFC had improved squad we had over performed last season and he felt that our squad was amongst the weakest in the division (not said word for word but definitely the gist). Dellor expressed surprise and pointed out how much RFC had spent and so forth but he reiterated that other teams had much better squads.

Stam then went on to say that it was not his fault that the team was under performing and that he kept telling the players to pass it forward and look for space etc but that they were not doing what he told them. It was all the player's fault. Tim Dellor seemed increasingly surprised by Stam's responses.

Despite being bored senseless by the style of play I have been fairly impressed by Stam's after match interviews before but this smacked of throwing the towel in. I am genuinely shocked he is still in place and can only assume it is due to financial constraints - but after that interview I think we are nailed on for relegation unless he goes. Any vestige of trust the players had in him must now surely be in tatters.

[Snowflake Royal]

Part of his post-game interview on Saturday with Dellor.
The quotes are not verbatim but he definitely said that other teams had improved this season.

They aren't verbatim? Well, do you feel its irresponsible to misquote and twist words and that it isn't particularly helpful? I'd much rather know what he actually said verbatim, and the context, rather than it be misrepresented, but hey, maybe that's just me.

Also, if he - or indeed anyone - says they think other teams have improved this season...how does that mean they have forgotten what we spent?

While we are at, can someone please quote verbatim what he actually said that was offensive to 'the fans'? Thanks.

Presumably it's on their website at BBC Berks and/ or the RFC official site.
Btw this is not a court of law.

It's not, but if it tried to ditch some of the hyperbole, rhetoric, misrepresentation and more wildly unsupported speculation it'd be a lot better.

FYI Denver - quotes from Get Reading

On what went wrong
"At times our decision making, our accuracy in passing which is not good enough. Sometimes in winning the second ball we can do better.

"Then you get a moment to score you need to take that oppotunity - but it didn't happen like in the second half. They came out and scored which made it difficult for us."

On the goal
"We had it already a couple of times this season - an opportunity to score and then the opposition comes out and scores.

"It's something we have been working on and talked about but it happens and that's very frustrating. You need to take opportunities if they are there and not give away too many."

On the threat of relegation
"We know where we are and it's very frustrating. Everyone needs to understand what we need to do to get out of it.

"It [the threat] is not going to go away by itself. We need to work very hard and give everything as a team and as an individual to get out of it.

"We know it is a difficult situation. Why? Because at times we need to do better but because we are playing against good teams as well."

On having enough talent to climb up the table
"Yes I do think so.

"There is enough quality within the team to do better than this but sometimes it is down to making the right choice or having the confidence to step up and changing our own game."

On the OS:

"Brentford are a good side - comfortable in how they play, very dynamic, a threat with pace going forward and they have good players. But you always want to get at least a point from a game like this.

"We knew we'd need to be very aggressive against them if we were going to get something out of the game and then also use your own ability and quality to get the right result.

"But, to be honest, we didn't always do that. They were a threat and yet we got that certain moment where we could get that first goal oursleves. But we didn't score it and then, ten seconds later, it's in our own net!

"That's how it has been quite a few times this season. We're close to scoring a goal and then they go out on the break and score their goal.

"When you're on a bad run, if you get these moments to score, you have to finish them. But when you're on a tough run, not only is it difficult to get these opportunities but it's also difficult to score them.

"If you're not winning a lot of points, the confidence goes down and with the confiddence going down, the players aren't making the decisions you expect from them. And from that it becomes difficult to win games."

"We work hard on certain things and in training sessions it looks good. But when you're on the pitch it doesn't always go how you want it to go. That's how football goes sometimes.

“It’s difficult to accept it…”

"So everybody needs to step up. The only thing we can do is work hard as a team to get ourselves out of it.

"And we will need the fans with us, because the players need their support. Of course, the fans want to see us go forward and score goals and that's what we're trying to do. At times we came very close, but it wasn't enough today. And we need to do better."

"It's about finding the moment, making the right decisions at the right time to allow us to score goals and win games. And winning games can change the whole mood. But to win that game, you have to give everything you have as individuals and get that result."

On BBC

"You can see in the decision-making and the accuracy in passing, at times, it was just not good enough.

"Sometimes, in winning the second ball and anticipating situations, we can do better.

"And when you get a moment when you can score, you need to take that opportunity and put it in the net."

Clearly, that's not the interview with Dellor on BBCRB, but to be perfectly honest I can't see an awful lot in there that isn't perfectly reasonable an accurate. And largely representative of what's said on here ... short of Stam actually saying "I'm clueless and it's all my fault, my system is terrible."

There's even a direct quote saying he thinks the squad is good enough to do better and get up the table.