Jaap Stam Approval Rating: April 2017

Positives

Reading are just one point away from qualifying for the play-offs, just 12 months removed from a 17th place finish in the Championship. We're even in a position to realistically finish third, which would be the 7th best finish in the club's entire history, so not bad for your first year in charge.

Stam's been able to acheive some great results, even without trusted senior players like Paul McShane and Joey van den Berg. His gamble of throwing Joseph Mendes into the starting lineup at Villa Park ended with sensational results and a new cult hero being born.

That win was one of a number of impressive victories over the past few weeks, including taking three points from play-off rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds, results which might just prove vital.

Off the pitch Jaap continues to show strong leadership, regularly winning over fans with some honest, up front assessments of his team. That's being done against an increasingly uncertain backdrop behind the scenes, where the proposed takeover of the club continues to rumble on.

Negatives

We lost 7 freaking 1 at Norwich. 7-1! You have to go back 40-odd years to find a Reading team that's conceded seven outside of the Premier League. We also found ourselves 1-0 down at home to what could be the worst team in second tier history plus 3-0 down at relegation threatened Nottingham Forest. Quite simply, when we're bad, we've been pretty darn horrible.

Tactically, you have to ask why Stam still seems to fall into the same traps, pitfalls that have seen us concede more second tier goals away from home than any Royals team since the 1998 relegation team. Adrian Popa at wing-back? Is he perhaps being too cute with his tactics?

Stam's also wound up a few fans with his criticisms of the fanbase, particularly after a few booed the team off at half-time against Rotherham. At a time when attendances are dropping, it's perhaps unwise to take aim at an already frustrated section of the supporters.

So let us know how you feel about Jaap’s management in the poll or the commnets, with 5 being the best and 1 being the worst.

Here's how you've rated historically.