CONFIRMED Rubén Sellés - Three year deal

[Aston max]

Are we all adding Spanish flags to our social media accounts and adding an Iberian twist to our names; like Wednesday fans did with German flags when Rohl took over?

No

 

[Newbury Blade]

A lot of Reading fans in this part of the world and FWIW everyone I’ve spoken to is full of praise for the job he did there in impossible circumstances. Doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily succeed with us but it’s encouraging that he was clearly highly regarded by their long suffering fans.

 

[Ron_Justice]

Why you backing him when there’s nothing to back him on gaining promotion it’s going to be a awful change

Am I? Think the only time I've declared a preference was in the shoutbox when l said 'IF CW has to go, Selles is my preference'. What I'm doing in the threads is giving information. For myself as much as for others.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

Why do you want a manager whose record is terrible just because Peps Spanish will play like Man City?

Why are you been a mardy sod?

Sometimes you have to also look beyond results.

If you do so, plus look at tactics, philosophy and mindset you can see exactly why he's admired.

 

[GeorgeDonis1889]

Stop using logic and reason, they can't make pointless arguments against logic and reason

Irony is both of you have failed to grasp the incredibly simple point being made.

 

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

A complete and utter gamble then. Terrific

 

[Railway Blade]

Poster's on here do make me smile , if we announced klopp as next manager the list of reasons why he's shit would be unbelievable.

Less ammunition . Gerrim in

 

[Bergen Blade]

He was a data analyst at Strømsgodset in 2015 and is pictured with Jostein Flo here:

 

[robbiez666]

I love his pre management career. He's had the maddest journey

 

[S40BLADE]

Is a lack of a philosophy a philosophy in and of itself?

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

He was a data analyst at Strømsgodset in 2015 and is pictured with Jostein Flo here:

View attachment 213677

We're going down the bladey blandness again I see

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Has he ever appeared as a pundit on ITV? The true measure of a great manager.

 

[Champagneblade]

Has coached in Spain, Greece, Azerbaijan, Norway, and Denmark, including stints as a fitness coach and a data analyst.

But crucially NOT Bulgaria!

 

[Espania blade]

My guess is they don't want to spend big in the transfer market, they'll identify young players via AI and expect him to find a few diamonds that will either get us promoted or to sell on for big money, hence they get a return on their investment.
Ever since they bought the club I was thinking how are they going to get a return on investment - only two ways in my mind,
Premier league or player sales.
They could of course (and probably will) invest in the infrastructure which will give them a return when they eventually sell us on. Personally i think there could be a few rocky years ahead Americans are brutal as we've seen with other clubs and they don't give a shit! A bit like our (less than) noisy neighbours! even though he's not American.

 

[NerdyBlade]

My guess is they don't want to spend big in the transfer market, they'll identify young players via AI and expect him to find a few diamonds that will either get us promoted or to sell on for big money, hence they get a return on their investment.
Ever since they bought the club I was thinking how are they going to get a return on investment - only two ways in my mind,
Premier league or player sales.
They could of course (and probably will) invest in the infrastructure which will give them a return when they eventually sell us on. Personally i think there could be a few rocky years ahead Americans are brutal as we've seen with other clubs and they don't give a shit! A bit like our (less than) noisy neighbours! even though he's not American.

"They don't want to spend big" - 2 points:

- Tom Cannon was a big spend?

- If they didn't want to spend, you keep Wilder? Someone who has a track record of trying with little to no budget?

Unsure what the willingness to spend has to do with any of this tbh

 

[Lord Eddard Muir]

A lot of Reading fans in this part of the world and FWIW everyone I’ve spoken to is full of praise for the job he did there in impossible circumstances. Doesn’t mean he’ll necessarily succeed with us but it’s encouraging that he was clearly highly regarded by their long suffering fans.

When Wilder first arrived it was with a reputation for having done thankless tasks at basket case clubs, and he turned out alright.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

My guess is they don't want to spend big in the transfer market, they'll identify young players via AI and expect him to find a few diamonds that will either get us promoted or to sell on for big money, hence they get a return on their investment.
Ever since they bought the club I was thinking how are they going to get a return on investment - only two ways in my mind,
Premier league or player sales.
They could of course (and probably will) invest in the infrastructure which will give them a return when they eventually sell us on. Personally i think there could be a few rocky years ahead Americans are brutal as we've seen with other clubs and they don't give a shit! A bit like our (less than) noisy neighbours! even though he's not American.

You are never going to claw back 100 million in sales while making loses every year as is the norm for most championship and indeed premier league sides

 

[Iffy Onuora's Shiny Head]

I think it's not just the manager/head coach. It's the whole structure around this manager that's critical. That's data teams, scounting teams, experienced negotiators (DoF), science and medical teams, full coaching and tactical teams

 

[Bladeloyal]

My guess is they don't want to spend big in the transfer market, they'll identify young players via AI and expect him to find a few diamonds that will either get us promoted or to sell on for big money, hence they get a return on their investment.
Ever since they bought the club I was thinking how are they going to get a return on investment - only two ways in my mind,
Premier league or player sales.
They could of course (and probably will) invest in the infrastructure which will give them a return when they eventually sell us on. Personally i think there could be a few rocky years ahead Americans are brutal as we've seen with other clubs and they don't give a shit! A bit like our (less than) noisy neighbours! even though he's not American.

Would just say we have 1 visa slot left for punts ,anymore will have to be internationals or playing in top leagues and need the necessary points tally to get proper work permits .now could you please f off

 

[s20Blade]

I think it's not just the manager/head coach. It's the whole structure around this manager that's critical. That's data teams, scounting teams, experienced negotiators (DoF), science and medical teams, full coaching and tactical teams

Also I'd imagine working with foreign players too.

 

[adamawdhali]

Harlee Dean was on undr the cosh recently and talked about how good of a manager he was. Just got to hope it’s one of those ones where the players he had weren’t good enough to play the way he wanted to and that he’ll excel with better players

 

[Champagneblade]

"They don't want to spend big" - 2 points:

- Tom Cannon was a big spend?

- If they didn't want to spend, you keep Wilder? Someone who has a track record of trying with little to no budget?

Unsure what the willingness to spend has to do with any of this tbh

I’d take it the other way.

If you are considering spending then you want your own guy to do it.

 

[S64 Blade]

Why are you been a mardy sod?

Sometimes you have to also look beyond results.

If you do so, plus look at tactics, philosophy and mindset you can see exactly why he's admired.

He does have Kevin Blackwell as his display pic tbf

 

[Iffy Onuora's Shiny Head]

I'm not fully sure how people can use his spells at Hull and Reading as not successful, given each teams circumstances.

Yes it's a gamble, but maybe we need to gamble to make the step we HAVENT DONE SINCE THE WAR - which is be in the top division for 4 successive years.

That really is a terrible stat.

 

[NerdyBlade]

Honestly, with how some of the fanbase are reacting to this - we don't deserve anything good to come of this

We've potentially got a data driven manager the new owners want and will be willing to back, and that's without factoring in that he's done reasonably well in situations where he seemed almost guaranteed to fail - and there's still complaints.

 

[blades_95]

It’s a shame it’s ending with Wilder, he’s given us probably the best times most of us have had supporting United. A genuine fan who stormed League 1, fantastic promotion from the Championship, memorable results against Wednesday & had us on the cusp of Europe and going toe to toe in the Prem.

But I do feel he’s taken us as far as he can - I don’t see us ever reaching those heights again, albeit I do think he could get us promoted next season but not in a sustainable or exciting way. I also think the fans are nostalgic for the old Wilder, rather than this version. The rumoured signings were equally uninspiring & showed little signs of adapting to what modern footballers are and what fans want to see - youth, athleticism, technical ability.

Selles is a gamble for sure but I think it’s exciting. It shows the new owners are going down a different route looking at up & coming young coaches, trying to modernise the club & install an ethos. His Hull side were fantastic at the Lane & he’s done a respectable job in difficult circumstances at Reading & Hull. He now has a different challenge inheriting a good squad expected to get promotion, but he’s a young coach who has shown potential. It’s about time we got in on a young up and coming manager who can grow with us - could go either way this, but I’m cautiously excited.

 

[Fatlad666]

Not know Kyoto

 

[Blade56]

Selles is a gamble for sure but I think it’s exciting. It shows the new owners are going down a different route looking at up & coming young coaches, trying to modernise the club & install an ethos.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It could go either way, it’s a gamble, hopefully a calculated well informed gamble but something is obviously not meshing with Wilder and owners.

Sorry for those who are upset about Wilder but if it’s Sellés and he succeeds then we’ll be moaning on here about getting him on a new contract.

 

[Grappler]

It’s a shame it’s ending with Wilder, he’s given us probably the best times most of us have had supporting United. A genuine fan who stormed League 1, fantastic promotion from the Championship, memorable results against Wednesday & had us on the cusp of Europe and going toe to toe in the Prem.

But I do feel he’s taken us as far as he can - I don’t see us ever reaching those heights again, albeit I do think he could get us promoted next season but not in a sustainable or exciting way. I also think the fans are nostalgic for the old Wilder, rather than this version. The rumoured signings were equally uninspiring & showed little signs of adapting to what modern footballers are and what fans want to see - youth, athleticism, technical ability.

Selles is a gamble for sure but I think it’s exciting. It shows the new owners are going down a different route looking at up & coming young coaches, trying to modernise the club & install an ethos. His Hull side were fantastic at the Lane & he’s done a respectable job in difficult circumstances at Reading & Hull. He now has a different challenge inheriting a good squad expected to get promotion, but he’s a young coach who has shown potential. It’s about time we got in on a young up and coming manager who can grow with us - could go either way this, but I’m cautiously excited.

I agree, it's a shame about Chris Wilder. That original team, with Bash, JOC, Duffy, Coutts, King Billy, big Leon, was just great to watch and every game seemed exciting. It could have been back-to-back promotions, if Coutts hadn't suffered that terrible injury, derailing our season.

I don't doubt that CW was hurting as much (if not more) than us, as the final whistle blew at Wembley, a few weeks ago, he would have wanted to deliver us back to the top flight, if it was the last thing he did.

If it is goodbye, then let's remember the good times.

As for young Ruben, I look forward to seeing him swigging a few cans of Turia beer, while singing
Salchicha, rollo de salchicha
Salchicha, rollo de salchicha

 

[TJB.]

In his own words, via a Not the Top 20 interview:



-- CORE PHILOSOPHY: INTENSITY & CONTROL --

• High pressing is non-negotiable. He wants his teams on the front foot, pressing to score, not just delay.
• “The higher the better” when it comes to pressing.
• Vertical play isn’t about long balls — he wants quick, purposeful, line-breaking passes that put teams under pressure.
• Tactically flexible (switches between 4-2-2-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1) but his core ideas stay the same: aggression, control, team cohesion.

-- MAN-MANAGEMENT & DRESSING ROOM CULTURE --

• Looks for players who will “own the situation” and want to do it together — no passengers.
• Strong emphasis on character: wants players who work hard but also fit the group dynamic.
• No age bias — doesn’t care if you’re 16 or 34, it’s about who fits the system.
• Keeps the squad tight so everyone feels close to the starting XI — avoids bloated squads.

-- PLAYER DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING ETHOS --

• Clear structure = better learning. Young players thrive when roles are defined and consistent.
• “We play as we train” — every training session has tactical direction, nothing random.
• Honest mistakes are fine. He creates a safe space for young players to grow without fear.
• Coaches in detail — wingers get coached on pressing angles, diagonal runs, finishing zones etc.
• His record at Reading backs this up — developed a lot of young players in tough conditions.

-- DATA & DETAIL-ORIENTED THINKING --

• Uses physical and tactical data to reinforce belief. Cited the Leeds match as Hull’s most intense physical performance.
• Wants to increase possession % even against better sides — sees it as a way to compete and grind out results.
• Has detailed principles like “Winger-Winger connection” and “minimum width, maximum depth” — it’s all mapped out.

-- LEADERSHIP STYLE --

• Comes across as calm, reflective, and honest.
• Learns from his mistakes (e.g. pressing issues at Reading) and adapts without ego.
• Builds emotional connections with clubs and fans — but isn’t afraid to move on when needed.

-- TRANSFER STRATEGY --

• Prefers smaller squads with clear roles.
• January window: focus is on fit, not panic buys. Wants profiles that suit the team, not just raw talent.
• Also conscious of leaving space for youth to come through.

I'd implore anybody against his appointment to be open minded and give this a watch.

He speaks well.