Comment: Paunovic's Reading FC exit was right call but manner raises more questions than answers

That win, an absolutely massive win at that, was the centre of the Reading world for about however long it took the players to celebrate with the travelling fans and walk off the pitch.

Then all hell broke loose. After weeks of growing pressure, manager Veljko Paunovic finally departed.

Before we go any further it’s important to state an opinion that won’t surprise many of you who have read my work: I firmly believe the correct decision was made. The situation had long become oppressively toxic. Something needed to change and despite the win at Preston, there wasn’t a viable path forward with Paunovic in charge. 

But…and here's the big but: the manner of his departure just reinforces why this club is in crisis and why fans are rightly concerned.

John Swift celebrates Reading's third goal at Preston. Image by: JasonPIX

There’s a certain irony to the timing of Paunovic’s exit. He should have gone after Kidderminster and certainly after Fulham. Did he deserve to survive the Luton defeat? Probably not. Certainly not the QPR thrashing either.

But when the decision finally did come - many weeks late - it was so swift as to totally overshadow the best Reading performance in many many months. What took them so long? And equally, why couldn't they wait a few more hours?

Again, that’s not to say Paunovic should have been kept on. Reading needed to change something and purely based on how football is judged - results - he deserves to no longer be the manager of this football club.

The logical thing to do would have been to wait until Sunday or Monday to make the announcement. Let the Reading fanbase celebrate a rare win before launching into the next set of difficult questions that seem to accompany every single decision by those in charge.

Instead, they picked the moment that caused maximum chaos. Do they know what they’re doing? Somehow, even when making the right decision, they’ve done so in such a manner that only raises concern rather than alleviates it. 

The fact that something for which virtually the entire fanbase was calling for could be bungled so impressively is a testament to the absolute incompetence (best case scenario) or nefariousness at the tippy top of the club. 

Reading fans celebrate Saturday's win. Image by: JasonPIX

The nature of Paul Ince’s arrival - understood to be supported by Kia Joorabchian - just further highlights that ‘incompetence’ may be a kind way of talking about the people who are making decisions about Reading Football Club.

Perhaps Ince will just be in charge for a game or two before the conclusion of the club’s ​”thorough search for a new permanent manager”. But why was he appointed at all? What does “alongside” Michael Gilkes even mean? And to include it only as one of the final lines in the departure announcement of Paunovic?

This is former England captain and Manchester United legend Paul Ince - major national news - yet all he gets from the club is 25 words at the end of a statement about his predecessor's departure. Why does it always feel like the decision-makers are hiding something?

It is understood that Paunovic’s initial offer to resign came more than a month ago. Surely they’ve had time to conduct the search?

We’re all hoping Ince proves his doubters wrong and leads this team to comfortable survival.

But having been out of the game since 2014, he’s the latest in a string of bizarre managerial appointments who are largely not qualified for the Reading job. This isn’t a coincidence. Managers have to agree to the current way in which the club is run and if they’re too strong or too autonomous, then how can those pulling the strings in the background get their way?

Paul Ince on punditry duty in 2019. Image by: JasonPIX

It may be cynical but Paul Ince is the perfect choice for people whose motives are control of Reading Football Club rather than a positive future for the club. Out of work for eight years, Ince has been handed an opportunity virtually no one saw coming. It's unlikely he'll cause much of a fuss, instead just accpeting the chance he's been given.

The manager at this club - whoever they are - has an effect. They work first-hand with the players and have a direct impact on the results on the pitch. But more than that, they are the frontmen. The face on a murky and disturbing group of background characters, forced to answer questions that others aren’t present for and take the flack for an entire club’s failings. Paunovic had to go, but he was also hung out to dry.

Reading as a football club are being used. And Reading fans are the ones getting taken advantage of in this relationship. 

Saturday’s announcement likely boosts Reading’s survival chances this season: Paunovic just couldn’t stay any longer. But the way in which it was done and the follow-up steps reinforce why the greater fears are far more existential.