In our latest Approval Rating poll, you gave him the third-highest score we’ve ever seen in this series.
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Last week we asked you for your verdict on the job Ruben Selles is doing at Reading in the latest edition of our Approval Rating series, and the results make for very good reading for the gaffer.
Having done very well in his first two polls (September 2023 and March 2024) (annoyingly we neglected to do one around November 2023, when he was a lot less popular), Selles’ score has increased once again. First 4.39, then 4.49, and now he’s up to 4.56.
That score came from a clear majority of you (62.8%) giving him 5/5, with a hefty chunk (32.9%) a bit more reserved at 4/5. Barely any of you went for 3/5 (seven people), 2/5 (four people) or 1/5 (literally just one person).
4.56 isn’t just a very good score for Selles, it’s an excellent score full stop. We’ve been running this Approval Rating series since February 2015 and only two managers have managed better.
Jaap Stam got 4.59 as thanks for guiding Reading to a playoff final, despite losing that game on penalties, while Veljko Paunovic at the peak of his powers (that feels like an awful long time ago, doesn’t it?) got a whopping 4.79 in February 2021.
While Reading’s league position doesn’t match what those managers had achieved at those points (we’re now 10th, rather than Stam’s third or Paunovic’s fourth), Selles gets a huge amount of credit for how well he’s doing in a broader context.
No Royals manager has had to put up with what Selles has in the last 18 months or so, and yet he secured our League One spot last season and has us in mid-table safety now, all the while doing a good job on developing young players and playing attractive football.
We’re lucky to have him. Hopefully we can keep hold of him and see him really develop this team after a *fingers crossed* takeover.
