I think what you have to remember is that under reid, we got promoted, went down on last day, missed out on play offs, then ran away with it. We had a much better team going from 2nd tier to top flight.
This time we come up from League 1, got to play offs, then did shite, then won play offs spending next to nowt getting there. In the context of the 3 or 4 season, this time is a greater achievement. More so when you consider the financial gap between the leagues. Thats not to take anything away from the Reid era, as that is probably the most enjoyable period in last 30 years.