Ince out!

[Royal Rother]

Whatever anyone thinks of them, and whatever opinions we may have on their attitude / application / relative merits, or the guesswork at what may have gone on behind the scenes,it may be no coincidence that our 2 most skillful players in Ejaria and Joao have found themselves frozen out.

It's definitely a coincidence.

One of them has barely played due to a combination of sickness, injury and attitude. Although he probably wouldn't have done very well watching the ball sail of his head and getting an absolute shellacking from both Ince's for slowing things down and losing the ball.

Whilst the other has played, but underperformed as he was left isolated while we played to his weaknesses. Although I'll grant you he probably would have done better and still been playing if we actually had a game plan that tried to work to his strengths.

I was more thinking that because they both take touches before trying to feed the ball on (or lose possession) and that that does not fit with Ince's style.

Clearly we have had almost opposite views on the 2 players, but we can possibly agree they are the 2 most skillful in the squad and can, when on song, make things happen that no-one else can. The fact that neither has really performed well under Ince may be no coincidence because neither seems suited to the way the rest of team plays, which, despite Ince's claims that he doesn't tell the players to play the way they have been, must surely be, at least in part, as a result of his gameplans and training sessions.

[Sutekh]

Transcript in the Chronicle of PI’s run-in with Tim after the Cardiff game

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... ff-defeat/

[Coppells Lost Coat]

The team is not limited - the manager is. There is a very fitting proverb - a bad workman blames his tools.

We have so many players that will thrive with a formation change however Ince refuses to accept it. I have a feeling Ince wants his son to be the main man by having him the only ball carrier on the pitch. If we switch up the formation T Ince role will not be as vital.
However we would see a better Carroll, Hoilet Yiadom, NGW, Azeez, Long, Meite

[NathStPaul]

Not sure how you can say the current squad isn't limited, of course it is. Firmly believe a very good manager would get more of a tune out of the players we have though.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

You seem to be conflating retaining a reasonable amount of possession and passing competently with a possession based passing out from the back style of football.

These are not the same things.

But then what's a "reasonable amount of possession"? And more importantly, how do you implement it with the players that we've got at the moment?

We shouldn't be making some of the basic errors that we did on Friday when we had the ball, but then asking those players to try and do something that they might not be good enough to do will also come at an even greater cost as well.

I'm as frustrated as the next person because we do have some capable ball players in our team, however we also don't as the case is with a fair few players. That's probably to be expected though when we've had to buy based on what's available, rather than what we can try and build. But if we aren't going to use the likes of Fornah and Casadei together/conssistently, then there's no point looking to adapt what we do now as it won't suit our group as well.

What do you think is a reasonable amount of possession?

It really shouldn’t be something particularly headache inducing.

The players are doing badly, because they're being set up badly and asked to play a way that doesn’t work. Ask them to play in a credible way, with a decent set up, and you'll see them perform better at the basics.

I don't know, hence why I asked. Your version of a reasonable amount might be 50%, mine might be 45%, someone else's might be 55%. The margins might seem small, but they are likely significant.

Well you can say that but we've pretty much set up this way throughout the season and we are currently well-placed in 16th, 10 points above the positions most thought we'd be in with one of the best home forms in the division. Current form is poor, away form has been woeful all season but what are you expecting? If you were/are expecting us to be consistent throughout what we do, you're expectations are wrong because it very rarely works out as expected i.e. a 16th-placed team very rarely perform "16th best" across all (or even most) areas.

Yes, some changes would be nice and would likely bring a difference, but you can only work with what you've got at the end of the day.

[Hound]

Not sure how you can say the current squad isn't limited, of course it is. Firmly believe a very good manager would get more of a tune out of the players we have though.

A very good manager might, and tbf Ince did earlier in the season. Just we don’t seem to be very good at picking very good managers

Do think we are a very limited side. Would still say we’re over performing on the season as a whole, though we’ve been pretty dire since the WC

[Dirk Gently]

Transcript in the Chronicle of PI’s run-in with Tim after the Cardiff game

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... ff-defeat/

The usual TD trick of trying to make himself the story...

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Not sure how you can say the current squad isn't limited, of course it is. Firmly believe a very good manager would get more of a tune out of the players we have though.

A very good manager might, and tbf Ince did earlier in the season. Just we don’t seem to be very good at picking very good managers

Do think we are a very limited side. Would still say we’re over performing on the season as a whole, though we’ve been pretty dire since the WC

We're just a bit of a streaky team. Really good first 10 or so games, followed by a poor 8/9 games leading up to the WC, solid back after the WC for 5/6 games, then since the turn of the year a bit of poor form now etc.

Hopefully the tide begins to turn a little bit over this sort of 4/5 games period, although the fixtures aren't that favourable. Then again, at home we can take points off/beat anyone.

If we stick to that similar sort of pattern over the remaining games then we will likely finish about where we are now.

[Hound]

Not sure how you can say the current squad isn't limited, of course it is. Firmly believe a very good manager would get more of a tune out of the players we have though.

A very good manager might, and tbf Ince did earlier in the season. Just we don’t seem to be very good at picking very good managers

Do think we are a very limited side. Would still say we’re over performing on the season as a whole, though we’ve been pretty dire since the WC

We're just a bit of a streaky team. Really good first 10 or so games, followed by a poor 8/9 games leading up to the WC, solid back after the WC for 5/6 games, then since the turn of the year a bit of poor form now etc.

Hopefully the tide begins to turn a little bit over this sort of 4/5 games period, although the fixtures aren't that favourable. Then again, at home we can take points off/beat anyone.

If we stick to that similar sort of pattern over the remaining games then we will likely finish about where we are now.

The concern for me is though our home form has been exceptionally good, we seem to have had a fair bit of luck or won quite a few where on the balance of play we’ve probably not really deserved it

Whether we can continue that I doubt. But I’m not overly concerned that we won’t pick up the 7-8 points we probably need

[YorkshireRoyal99]

A very good manager might, and tbf Ince did earlier in the season. Just we don’t seem to be very good at picking very good managers

Do think we are a very limited side. Would still say we’re over performing on the season as a whole, though we’ve been pretty dire since the WC

We're just a bit of a streaky team. Really good first 10 or so games, followed by a poor 8/9 games leading up to the WC, solid back after the WC for 5/6 games, then since the turn of the year a bit of poor form now etc.

Hopefully the tide begins to turn a little bit over this sort of 4/5 games period, although the fixtures aren't that favourable. Then again, at home we can take points off/beat anyone.

If we stick to that similar sort of pattern over the remaining games then we will likely finish about where we are now.

The concern for me is though our home form has been exceptionally good, we seem to have had a fair bit of luck or won quite a few where on the balance of play we’ve probably not really deserved it

Whether we can continue that I doubt. But I’m not overly concerned that we won’t pick up the 7-8 points we probably need

Swings and roundabouts though really I think, we've probably had a few games at any venue where we've probably deserved to get more than we should have, Burnley away smacks as one and I suppose you can argue we were less than 5 minutes away from a result on Friday and less than 10 from getting something at Sunderland as well. Whilst we weren't unlucky to lose, it was only the odd goal as has been a lot of results this season where one poor moment has cost us. But that's where we are I suppose.

[Hound]

We're just a bit of a streaky team. Really good first 10 or so games, followed by a poor 8/9 games leading up to the WC, solid back after the WC for 5/6 games, then since the turn of the year a bit of poor form now etc.

Hopefully the tide begins to turn a little bit over this sort of 4/5 games period, although the fixtures aren't that favourable. Then again, at home we can take points off/beat anyone.

If we stick to that similar sort of pattern over the remaining games then we will likely finish about where we are now.

The concern for me is though our home form has been exceptionally good, we seem to have had a fair bit of luck or won quite a few where on the balance of play we’ve probably not really deserved it

Whether we can continue that I doubt. But I’m not overly concerned that we won’t pick up the 7-8 points we probably need

Swings and roundabouts though really I think, we've probably had a few games at any venue where we've probably deserved to get more than we should have, Burnley away smacks as one and I suppose you can argue we were less than 5 minutes away from a result on Friday and less than 10 from getting something at Sunderland as well. Whilst we weren't unlucky to lose, it was only the odd goal as has been a lot of results this season where one poor moment has cost us. But that's where we are I suppose.

Not sure really. Burnley away is prob the only one I can remember feeling hard done by all season

[URZZZZ]

Transcript in the Chronicle of PI’s run-in with Tim after the Cardiff game

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... ff-defeat/

The way Ince conducts himself with respect to things like interviews doesn’t help his cause. Constantly deflecting the blame. Always criticising refs (don’t we have the most penalties awarded in the league?)

Goes on about fixture congestion (like it isn’t the same for the opposing team). Constantly mentions the spending power of other teams. Can hardly help the players’ morale when you go on about how much better the other team is

In the grand scheme of things, pre (and post) match interviews shouldn’t mean a lot but when you combine Ince’s overall demeanour to our performances, it’s not a surprise that fans are unhappy

[YorkshireRoyal99]

The concern for me is though our home form has been exceptionally good, we seem to have had a fair bit of luck or won quite a few where on the balance of play we’ve probably not really deserved it

Whether we can continue that I doubt. But I’m not overly concerned that we won’t pick up the 7-8 points we probably need

Swings and roundabouts though really I think, we've probably had a few games at any venue where we've probably deserved to get more than we should have, Burnley away smacks as one and I suppose you can argue we were less than 5 minutes away from a result on Friday and less than 10 from getting something at Sunderland as well. Whilst we weren't unlucky to lose, it was only the odd goal as has been a lot of results this season where one poor moment has cost us. But that's where we are I suppose.

Not sure really. Burnley away is prob the only one I can remember feeling hard done by all season

Depends how you view it. Look at Birmingham away, the better team for the vast majority of it but 3-0 down and still nearly got something back from the game, so could argue that, on the balance of the game we probably "should" have got something.

Blackpool away wasn't much of a spectacle but we had as much as what they did, another game where we probably "should" have got something.

Not games where we feel hard done by, but on another day the result could have been a lot different. As mentioned, swings and roundabouts though.

[Fezza]

Transcript in the Chronicle of PI’s run-in with Tim after the Cardiff game

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... ff-defeat/

The way Ince conducts himself with respect to things like interviews doesn’t help his cause. Constantly deflecting the blame. Always criticising refs (don’t we have the most penalties awarded in the league?)

Goes on about fixture congestion (like it isn’t the same for the opposing team). Constantly mentions the spending power of other teams. Can hardly help the players’ morale when you go on about how much better the other team is

In the grand scheme of things, pre (and post) match interviews shouldn’t mean a lot but when you combine Ince’s overall demeanour to our performances, it’s not a surprise that fans are unhappy

I have to say I quite like the frank assessment Ince gives of where we are and what the players are capable of.

With the exception of Ince and Ejaria none of our midfielders look capable of playing a killer pass and we don't really have the wingers to create chances on out wide. Added to this is the very poor ball retention skills of the majority of our defence and defensive midfield.

I genuinely can't see how, with this squad, we can be more than we've shown to date.

This season was all about survival, if we achieve that we've done really well.

That said I'd love to see a line up of:
Lumley, Abrefa (rb), Holmes, TMac, Yids (lb), MBengue (dm), Ince (cm), Hendrick (cm), Azeez (lw), Hoilett (rw) and Carroll

... but understand that it would be weaker at the back. I guess we can p!ss about passing once we are safe.

[Snowflake Royal]

Whatever anyone thinks of them, and whatever opinions we may have on their attitude / application / relative merits, or the guesswork at what may have gone on behind the scenes,it may be no coincidence that our 2 most skillful players in Ejaria and Joao have found themselves frozen out.

It's definitely a coincidence.

One of them has barely played due to a combination of sickness, injury and attitude. Although he probably wouldn't have done very well watching the ball sail of his head and getting an absolute shellacking from both Ince's for slowing things down and losing the ball.

Whilst the other has played, but underperformed as he was left isolated while we played to his weaknesses. Although I'll grant you he probably would have done better and still been playing if we actually had a game plan that tried to work to his strengths.

I was more thinking that because they both take touches before trying to feed the ball on (or lose possession) and that that does not fit with Ince's style.

Clearly we have had almost opposite views on the 2 players, but we can possibly agree they are the 2 most skillful in the squad and can, when on song, make things happen that no-one else can. The fact that neither has really performed well under Ince may be no coincidence because neither seems suited to the way the rest of team plays, which, despite Ince's claims that he doesn't tell the players to play the way they have been, must surely be, at least in part, as a result of his gameplans and training sessions.

Yeah, we can agree on skill level.

I suspect Ejaria would have gone the same way as Joao if he had played more, or wouldn’t have even got on the pitch solely for his style, but I don’t think we ever got there for other reasons.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

Ince, Hoilet, and Azeez can all cross a decent ball in. NGW, Baba and Yids are very hit and miss. But Ince has clearly got his mind set on playing one style with this group of players. It will probably get us over the line but it wont be pretty. After his latest comments you got to question how committed will those players be if he continues to stick with it and continue to slate them.

[Snowflake Royal]

I must have missed the session on good management that covered

"Repeatedly tell your team they're shit and then blame them and complain when they perform badly."

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Transcript in the Chronicle of PI’s run-in with Tim after the Cardiff game

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... ff-defeat/

The usual TD trick of trying to make himself the story...

Dellor has wound up every manager for the last 10 years, even Brian walked out of a conference once

[Fezza]

Would sacking Ince see us breach our commitments to the EFL?

[Royal Rother]

Transcript in the Chronicle of PI’s run-in with Tim after the Cardiff game

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... ff-defeat/

The usual TD trick of trying to make himself the story...

Dellor has wound up every manager for the last 10 years, even Brian walked out of a conference once

I’m no particular fan of TD but he’s damned if he doesn’t ask the managers the difficult questions and he’s damned if he does.

Can’t win.