“Sacked in the morning” rang around all four sides of Loftus Road like a death knell for the beleaguered Brendan Rodgers. After a performance as wretched as the one Reading put in this evening, it came as no surprise and time is rapidly running out for the boss with only two league wins under his belt all season. Time is the last thing the fans want to give him though and rightly so as he has only managed to take his team further backwards this season.
Rodgers last game in charge of Reading?
QPR were an absolute class above Reading tonight and were still dominant even after the referee handed us a great advantage. He sent Ben Watson off for a second yellow after only half an hour, apparently for taking a free-kick before the whistle. It was very, very harsh, but QPR responded from the same free-kick; Buszaky brilliantly curling it into the bottom corner. Despite the numerical advantage, Reading were still under the cosh and deservedly went two down after a great move from the home side saw Simpson tuck the ball home from yards out.
Rodgers made two substitutions at half-time, choosing to go with three at the back and replacing Jay Tabb, who had played well at right-back, as well as Kalifa Cisse with Sigurdsson and Howard. The numerical advantage was lost seconds after the restart though, with Ingimarsson diving in late to earn a second yellow. With 10 against 10, QPR were rampant again. Vine scored from long range before Agyemang found himself one-on-one with Federici without a defender in sight and danced his way past the goalkeeper.
Howard grabbed a consolation goal late on, but it was only met with chants of “how shit must you be, we’ve just scored a goal” as the Reading fans looked to make the best of a very bad situation. The demands of “Rodgers out” had already been in full flow by this point and were repeated at the final whistle, along with a chorus of boos.
Credit where it’s due; Jimmy Kebe worked his absolute socks off, but couldn’t find that final ball. He was about the only one who looked like he still cared at 4-0 down. Howard played quite well after coming on, as did Sigurdsson who looked lively. Federici couldn’t really be blamed for the goals. However, O’Dea, Ingimarsson, Gunarsson and Cisse were utterly useless. MacAnuff started brightly, but faded quickly and was a passenger though the second half. Mills was committed but let down by terrible distribution, while Church and Long didn’t get a sniff up-front.
I’ve advocated giving Rodgers more time, but enough is enough. We are getting progressively worse this season and, given the chance, he will take us down. The Reading fans sang more out of hope than expectation tonight; I fully expect to see Brendan in the dugout come Monday night to embarrass on the telly, but his days are numbered. Will Madejski have the balls to sack him?
The Reading Fan 
DISLIKE.
To call for his head would to make the Newcastle mistake and keep the club instable. We need stability and a bit of luck.
It’s hard being optimistic still…
Like I’ve seen a lot of Reading fans say over the last couple of days I really wanted it to work with Brendan Rodgers. I agree with you Steve, if we were to sack Rodgers now it would be harsh. Two losses away to QPR and West Brom don’t deserve him being sacked considering the squad he is working with.
However, a loss at home to Leicester would.
@oiSteve
Why stick with a manager that is presiding over performances and results that are getting steadily worse though. I went to the first two league games this season and I’ve been to the last two – trust me, he’s learnt nothing and gone backwards in his short time here.
@Simon
I really wanted it to work too. The blog posts on this site were full of support for Brendan and kept the faith for some time, but I’ve just lost patience. I agree that, on paper, two losses away at WBA and QPR isn’t sackworthy, but the performances we’ve put in are. Last night, we were wretched. It got to the stage where we were cheering a completed pass, because it was so rare.
He’s won two league games this season and only one of those was convincing. At Preston we were very, very lucky. We’re one place outside the relegation zone with almost a third of the season gone. We can’t defend to save our lives and look toothless up-front. Rodgers will take us down, given the opportunity. He needs to go.