Amid reported interest from Hull City in acquiring Reading’s manager, Dave begs our much-loved gaffer to stay put in Berkshire.
Dear Ruben,
I hope I do not appear presumptuous if I write on behalf of every Reading fan, but I feel I must do so. The message from us is simple: please stay. This club is in a dire state as you know, but a “simple” takeover is all it needs to become more stable.
I appreciate these are simple words for a very complex situation, however if you were to choose to stay and dedicate your personal future to this club, the esteem in which you are held would undoubtedly be among the highest any manager has ever been held in Reading, if not THE highest.
We recognise the start you had was difficult, but the manner in which you have managed to guide this ship through troubled waters both on and off the pitch is beyond admiration. The improvement you have overseen in not only our young players - who you have managed superbly - but also the more senior professionals, is there for all to see.
The rapport you hold with the fans of this club is like no other I have seen in 35 years following this humble football club. The respect held for the players, and understanding of the situation, by the fans, is in no small part down to you and your coaching team.
The manager of a football club is the figurehead of any club, the standard-setter, the sun around which all playing staff orbit. Were it not for you, I am in no doubt that this football club would have collapsed long ago, but it is your work, your tireless effort, that has glued this club together.
It takes a person with significant resolve to navigate such challenges as you have, and I only implore you - plead with you - to stay and ensure that if/when you do leave, the club is left in stable hands, not in the abyss with Dai Yongge. Navigate these challenges through to the takeover and then you will see what this club, its staff and its fans can offer you.
Lastly, I just want to say that we, the fans, love you. The players clearly love you. The coaching staff clearly love you. I know the administrative staff love you. These may not be easy words to read for someone who appears humble, and shuns the limelight a bit, pushing the emphasis only on your players, but they are true. You are loved here. Please do not abandon that love for another club whose ownership appears to be among the most short-sighted and unstable in the Football League.
However, if this is to be the end, I want to offer you the biggest of thank yous. Words cannot do justice to how, I think, every Reading fan feels about the job you have done under the most challenging of circumstances since you arrived at this club.
Your coaching, tactics, political acumen and man-management skills have been demonstrated to the full, and it is no surprise you are courting interest from clubs higher up the pyramid. Nobody can blame you if you choose to leave, and you would leave with our best wishes.
Hasta que nos volvamos a encontrar (¡con suerte en Wycombe!)
Dave Harris
