Mo Gosfield
Well-known member
- Aug 11, 2010
- 6,285
We all know that Gus is highly ambitious, is supremely self-confident and has a very high opinion of himself as a manager. Some will argue, he thinks he is better than he actually is.
The question is.....is Reading FC the next logical step up the ladder for him? Can they match his ambition? Have they the resources to be competitive at the highest level?
Reading fans tend to regard themselves as bigger and better than Brighton, particularly the younger ones. They have experienced three seasons in the top flight recently ( and yes, they are going down ) plus two promotions from the Championship. For a club that has spent a good percentage of its history in the bottom two divisions, they have got a bit billy-big-time lately.
This will be their second relegation from the Premiership. Why? Because on both occasions they have failed to invest enough on the pitch. First time around, they had a fighting chance of survival , at Xmas, in their second season but Mr. Mad wouldn't invest and they went down on goal difference on the last day. ( Winning 4-0 at Derby, whilst a previously doomed looking Fulham, who are still in the Prem and doing ok,thank-you, scraped a late win at Pompey )
Last season, they defied all the odds, went on an amazing run and got up. Did they learn their lesson and invest. No.
Why? Because the new Chairman hasn't got a clue and hasn't got the resources to back up his big talk. They have tried to make do with bargain buys from lower divisions and one overpriced and overrated Russian ( Pog ) They relied heavily on Jason Roberts and Ian Harte to get them up and both couldn't cut it in the Prem.
Do the fans back the club? Yes, when they are in the Prem. Why? Because a lot of them support Man.Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal/Chelsea etc and buy up season tickets to guarantee seeing their club play Reading. When Stoke, Fulham, Wigan, Norwich etc come to town, they stay at home. When they get relegated, they lose all this floating support and drop down to 14,000 from 22-24,000. Thats a massive percentage drop.
To be honest, they have been punching above their weight in recent seasons. They are at best a good Championship club. No one is quite sure how legitimate the new owner is. Madjewski took ages over due diligence and Zingarevich wasn't allowed in the country for quite some time. ( The jury is still out )
Reading and Brighton are pretty close at the moment in terms of potential and infrastructure. You could argue that we are still gathering momentum whilst Reading have levelled out.
IMHO it would be nothing better than a sideways move for Gus ( even if they tempted him with a much heftier salary ) and they certainly wouldn't be able to match his ambition.
The question is.....is Reading FC the next logical step up the ladder for him? Can they match his ambition? Have they the resources to be competitive at the highest level?
Reading fans tend to regard themselves as bigger and better than Brighton, particularly the younger ones. They have experienced three seasons in the top flight recently ( and yes, they are going down ) plus two promotions from the Championship. For a club that has spent a good percentage of its history in the bottom two divisions, they have got a bit billy-big-time lately.
This will be their second relegation from the Premiership. Why? Because on both occasions they have failed to invest enough on the pitch. First time around, they had a fighting chance of survival , at Xmas, in their second season but Mr. Mad wouldn't invest and they went down on goal difference on the last day. ( Winning 4-0 at Derby, whilst a previously doomed looking Fulham, who are still in the Prem and doing ok,thank-you, scraped a late win at Pompey )
Last season, they defied all the odds, went on an amazing run and got up. Did they learn their lesson and invest. No.
Why? Because the new Chairman hasn't got a clue and hasn't got the resources to back up his big talk. They have tried to make do with bargain buys from lower divisions and one overpriced and overrated Russian ( Pog ) They relied heavily on Jason Roberts and Ian Harte to get them up and both couldn't cut it in the Prem.
Do the fans back the club? Yes, when they are in the Prem. Why? Because a lot of them support Man.Utd/Liverpool/Arsenal/Chelsea etc and buy up season tickets to guarantee seeing their club play Reading. When Stoke, Fulham, Wigan, Norwich etc come to town, they stay at home. When they get relegated, they lose all this floating support and drop down to 14,000 from 22-24,000. Thats a massive percentage drop.
To be honest, they have been punching above their weight in recent seasons. They are at best a good Championship club. No one is quite sure how legitimate the new owner is. Madjewski took ages over due diligence and Zingarevich wasn't allowed in the country for quite some time. ( The jury is still out )
Reading and Brighton are pretty close at the moment in terms of potential and infrastructure. You could argue that we are still gathering momentum whilst Reading have levelled out.
IMHO it would be nothing better than a sideways move for Gus ( even if they tempted him with a much heftier salary ) and they certainly wouldn't be able to match his ambition.