Reading v Leeds United: Mac’s certain to get a standing ovation - Williams
YEP 17/9/13
Former Reading captain Ady Williams reveals to phil hay that brian mcdermott will enjoy cult status on his return to the club.
Time will tell whether Reading took a prudent course of action by replacing Brian McDermott with Nigel Adkins. Relegated from the Premier League and ninth in the Championship, the jury is yet to deliver a verdict.
The two men will avoid that debate and shake hands warmly at the Madejski Stadium tomorrow. This is not Dennis Wise meets Kevin Blackwell or a horribly bitter reunion. When Adkins was offered the Reading job in the aftermath of McDermott’s sacking, McDermott told him to take it. “He’s a top man,” said Adkins. “We’ll always welcome him back here.”
Adkins was not the sole beneficiary of McDermott’s demise on March 13. Reading’s cull of their previous coaching team offered Leeds United a manager who, at a time of dire straits in West Yorkshire, they were lucky to find available. There are some at the Madejski who would argue now that the 52-year-old should never have been cut loose in the first place.
Ady Williams, the former Royals captain, is undecided about the wisdom of Reading choosing to twist when they had the option of sitting tight. “Reading aren’t really firing on all cylinders,” he said, “so it’s too early to say if they made the right decision. That’s a hypothetical opinion.
“I like Nigel Adkins a lot and with Brian gone I felt he was the perfect replacement. He’s a similar breed and I think they both fall bang in the middle of the category of managers Reading need. I can see it working out.
“But there are fans here who think Brian should still be in the job – not because they’ve got a problem with Adkins but because they don’t think Brian deserved to be sacked. He got the club out of the Championship once and I’d have backed him to do it again.
“Even those people who thought it was time for a change took that view reluctantly. It was one of those situations where everyone felt sorry so see Reading reach the point where someone as loyal as Brian left. He’s a Reading legend and I don’t use that word lightly. He’ll get a standing ovation tomorrow.”
McDermott was less sure about that, or at least a little coy, when his mind turned to United’s game against Reading after Saturday’s 1-0 win at Bolton. “I haven’t thought about it,” he said when asked was sort of reception he would receive at a ground he knows well. “I honestly don’t know.”
He has not been back since his dismissal by Reading owner Anton Zingarevich, partly because protocol prevented it initially but largely because he was out of work for only a month before taking charge of Leeds on April 12.
Any bad blood that existed between him and Zingarevich has been cleansed already. The Russian sent McDermott a text to congratulate him on the day that United appointed him. The Leeds boss remembers his three-and-a-half years at Reading as a “good time for me” – promotion from the Championship in 2012 ranking above all else.
He and assistant Nigel Gibbs were cast out after four straight defeats with Reading four points from safety in the Premier League.
“It was always going to be a bit of a struggle last season,” said Williams. “Brian would say himself that football’s a results business but I just think there’s a question mark over whether Reading were ever likely to stay up and whether Brian really needed to go.
“But the bottom line is that when you’re near the bottom of any division, your job’s going to be under threat. You see it all the time. Adkins could equally argue that he was seriously unlucky to go from Southampton when he did and I think they’ll both do well at their new clubs.
“Brian seems to be changing a lot at Leeds and Nigel’s implementing a very different style at Reading. They both need time. But if they’re given it, I can see Reading and Leeds doing nicely out of everything that’s happened. It’s funny how things work out.”
Leeds are suitably content at this stage. Their victory over Bolton moved them up to sixth, three places and two points ahead of Reading. There is a spring in United’s step ahead of a fixture tomorrow which, from McDermott’s perspective, would have been difficult enough to negotiate without his history.
McDermott is one of just two managers who have taken Reading into the Premier League, Steve Coppell the other. The significance of that can be found in the fact that none of Williams’ 400-plus league appearance for the club were made in that division. Reading have more often than not been a lower-league side; McDermott was part of a dramatic shift in power and ambition after the turn of the Millennium.
“He’ll be proud of the fact that he left Reading with his record and his reputation intact,” said Williams. “I don’t think he’s coming back with anything to prove or any criticism to answer.
“There were times in my career when I played against a club who I’d been with previously and made no impact at. For any number of reasons it didn’t work out. You always have it at the back of your mind that you’ll show the players, the manager, the owners, whoever, that actually you were better than they thought.
“With Brian, he doesn’t have a point to make. People know what he did at Reading. They respect what he did at Reading. He’ll not be short of fans trying to shake his hand and the reception he gets will be impressive, I promise you. It’ll be quite emotional for him.”
McDermott is not prone to open displays of emotion and nor does he make cheap headlines. It would be untypical of him to admit that a win tomorrow would carry a higher value for him than the victory Leeds took from Bolton.
“His motto here was always ‘I can only affect the next game’,” said Williams. “He doesn’t seem to have changed much at Leeds. “He’ll play things down and he’ll tell you that winning at Reading would mean no more to him than winning anywhere else. Maybe that’s true. I don’t see this being personal for him, or certainly not in a negative way, and I don’t see the occasion distracting him. He’ll just have to put up with a hundred and one text messages in the next 24 hours.”
Former Reading captain Ady Williams reveals to phil hay that brian mcdermott will enjoy cult status on his return to the club.
Time will tell whether Reading took a prudent course of action by replacing Brian McDermott with Nigel Adkins. Relegated from the Premier League and ninth in the Championship, the jury is yet to deliver a verdict.
The two men will avoid that debate and shake hands warmly at the Madejski Stadium tomorrow. This is not Dennis Wise meets Kevin Blackwell or a horribly bitter reunion. When Adkins was offered the Reading job in the aftermath of McDermott’s sacking, McDermott told him to take it. “He’s a top man,” said Adkins. “We’ll always welcome him back here.”
Adkins was not the sole beneficiary of McDermott’s demise on March 13. Reading’s cull of their previous coaching team offered Leeds United a manager who, at a time of dire straits in West Yorkshire, they were lucky to find available. There are some at the Madejski who would argue now that the 52-year-old should never have been cut loose in the first place.
Ady Williams, the former Royals captain, is undecided about the wisdom of Reading choosing to twist when they had the option of sitting tight. “Reading aren’t really firing on all cylinders,” he said, “so it’s too early to say if they made the right decision. That’s a hypothetical opinion.
“I like Nigel Adkins a lot and with Brian gone I felt he was the perfect replacement. He’s a similar breed and I think they both fall bang in the middle of the category of managers Reading need. I can see it working out.
“But there are fans here who think Brian should still be in the job – not because they’ve got a problem with Adkins but because they don’t think Brian deserved to be sacked. He got the club out of the Championship once and I’d have backed him to do it again.
“Even those people who thought it was time for a change took that view reluctantly. It was one of those situations where everyone felt sorry so see Reading reach the point where someone as loyal as Brian left. He’s a Reading legend and I don’t use that word lightly. He’ll get a standing ovation tomorrow.”
McDermott was less sure about that, or at least a little coy, when his mind turned to United’s game against Reading after Saturday’s 1-0 win at Bolton. “I haven’t thought about it,” he said when asked was sort of reception he would receive at a ground he knows well. “I honestly don’t know.”
He has not been back since his dismissal by Reading owner Anton Zingarevich, partly because protocol prevented it initially but largely because he was out of work for only a month before taking charge of Leeds on April 12.
Any bad blood that existed between him and Zingarevich has been cleansed already. The Russian sent McDermott a text to congratulate him on the day that United appointed him. The Leeds boss remembers his three-and-a-half years at Reading as a “good time for me” – promotion from the Championship in 2012 ranking above all else.
He and assistant Nigel Gibbs were cast out after four straight defeats with Reading four points from safety in the Premier League.
“It was always going to be a bit of a struggle last season,” said Williams. “Brian would say himself that football’s a results business but I just think there’s a question mark over whether Reading were ever likely to stay up and whether Brian really needed to go.
“But the bottom line is that when you’re near the bottom of any division, your job’s going to be under threat. You see it all the time. Adkins could equally argue that he was seriously unlucky to go from Southampton when he did and I think they’ll both do well at their new clubs.
“Brian seems to be changing a lot at Leeds and Nigel’s implementing a very different style at Reading. They both need time. But if they’re given it, I can see Reading and Leeds doing nicely out of everything that’s happened. It’s funny how things work out.”
Leeds are suitably content at this stage. Their victory over Bolton moved them up to sixth, three places and two points ahead of Reading. There is a spring in United’s step ahead of a fixture tomorrow which, from McDermott’s perspective, would have been difficult enough to negotiate without his history.
McDermott is one of just two managers who have taken Reading into the Premier League, Steve Coppell the other. The significance of that can be found in the fact that none of Williams’ 400-plus league appearance for the club were made in that division. Reading have more often than not been a lower-league side; McDermott was part of a dramatic shift in power and ambition after the turn of the Millennium.
“He’ll be proud of the fact that he left Reading with his record and his reputation intact,” said Williams. “I don’t think he’s coming back with anything to prove or any criticism to answer.
“There were times in my career when I played against a club who I’d been with previously and made no impact at. For any number of reasons it didn’t work out. You always have it at the back of your mind that you’ll show the players, the manager, the owners, whoever, that actually you were better than they thought.
“With Brian, he doesn’t have a point to make. People know what he did at Reading. They respect what he did at Reading. He’ll not be short of fans trying to shake his hand and the reception he gets will be impressive, I promise you. It’ll be quite emotional for him.”
McDermott is not prone to open displays of emotion and nor does he make cheap headlines. It would be untypical of him to admit that a win tomorrow would carry a higher value for him than the victory Leeds took from Bolton.
“His motto here was always ‘I can only affect the next game’,” said Williams. “He doesn’t seem to have changed much at Leeds. “He’ll play things down and he’ll tell you that winning at Reading would mean no more to him than winning anywhere else. Maybe that’s true. I don’t see this being personal for him, or certainly not in a negative way, and I don’t see the occasion distracting him. He’ll just have to put up with a hundred and one text messages in the next 24 hours.”