Kitson signs for Stoke for £5.5 million

[Wycombe Royal]

How many times do I need to say it?

Say it as many times as you want but I still don't get it.

[KC Royal]

Why is everyone thinking we'll spend whatever we get for Kitson on a replacement? When have we EVER done that??

Im not really expecting us to spend the money on a striker. Right wing is the priority imo, and anyway wasn't Coppell trying to reduce the size of the squad?

Last season was the first season in three years when we actually had 4 strikers available. We'd coped fine with 3 strikers before then so I don't see why things should be any different this time round. We've also got Church as extra cover, and if things got really desperate we could get someone in on loan, or if Hunt stays he could play up front.

[Roger the Rabbit]

Absolutely !
It would be odd if everyone thought the same.
I guess my thinking was that what a player does on the pitch is more important than what they say, and feeling you have completley lost interest in football becasue Kitson has moved clubs was a bit extreme !
I'm sure he'll still shout his mouth off in the Potteries !!!

The players we have left no longer represent the fan in the stand, hence the end of my love affair.

How many times do I need to say it?

As many as you want I guess.

It won't be true though. Or rather it won't be relevant.

They are there to play football, not 'represent' you.

It may be nice if a footballer says something you agree with but I'd rather we had 11 good footballers than 11 budding politicians or amateur sociologists. Kitson was a bit of fun with his Richard Wilson style interviews but he didn't 'represent' the fans - unless you too enjoy collecting fine wine and not playing in the FA Cup !

[Southbank Old Boy]

Why is everyone thinking we'll spend whatever we get for Kitson on a replacement? When have we EVER done that??

Im not really expecting us to spend the money on a striker. Right wing is the priority imo, and anyway wasn't Coppell trying to reduce the size of the squad?

Last season was the first season in three years when we actually had 4 strikers available. We'd coped fine with 3 strikers before then so I don't see why things should be any different this time round. We've also got Church as extra cover, and if things got really desperate we could get someone in on loan, or if Hunt stays he could play up front.

You have to have enough in your squad to cope with injuries and suspensions, let alone loss of form. Having the 3 senior forwards plus Long we've had for the last 3 seasons is why we've pretty much always had 3 forwards available to the manager (apart from when it mattered the most last season when we sent one out on loan that is!).

We have to have similar numbers to chose from upfront this season or we are serioulsy damaging our chances of having a decent season.

If the manager thinks that 3 senior forwards of Doyle, Lita and Long with Church as the fourth option is good enough then so be it. I think that'd be a serious error of judgement as I don't think either Long or Church is good enough for that much responsibility in this league, but Coppell is the one charged with making those kind of decisions.

[Southbank Old Boy]

Absolutely !
It would be odd if everyone thought the same.
I guess my thinking was that what a player does on the pitch is more important than what they say, and feeling you have completley lost interest in football becasue Kitson has moved clubs was a bit extreme !
I'm sure he'll still shout his mouth off in the Potteries !!!

The players we have left no longer represent the fan in the stand, hence the end of my love affair.

How many times do I need to say it?

As many as you want I guess.

It won't be true though. Or rather it won't be relevant.

They are there to play football, not 'represent' you.

It may be nice if a footballer says something you agree with but I'd rather we had 11 good footballers than 11 budding politicians or amateur sociologists. Kitson was a bit of fun with his Richard Wilson style interviews but he didn't 'represent' the fans - unless you too enjoy collecting fine wine and not playing in the FA Cup !

It didn't take long then!

Kitson had a lot more in common with the average fan than the majority of today's highly paid mollycoddled professionals.

The ones that remain are all pretty much your typical footballers who live in a totally different world to the fans who's team they play for, and therefore represent.

[KC Royal]

As I said yesterday in UR&G, it's all very well everyone eulogising about losing Dave Kitson. But the truth is that the Dave Kitson that everyone loves - the young, hungry, Dave Kitson who was so superb during the Championship season and the first one and a half PL seasons - has already left and he left us in January.

That was the time of the "holier than thou" newspaper interviews, the talk of a possible England call-up, the "don't you know who I am, I don't need to take a breath test" and so on. I'm convinced that it was around that time that DK decided he'd arrived as a PL player and lost the hunger - the fact that he is prepared to go to a team like Stoke, who will inevitably be fighting relegation all season just supports that fact that DK now believes he has a divine right to be a PL player. Don't forget this is a player who left his previous club by going into the Chairman's office and saying "Mr Chairman, I've decided I've taken Cambridge United as far as I can."

Yes, he was a wonderful servant for us, but don't for a minute that that the DK of the last half of last season (2 goals in 17 games) - or the DK of this year if we somehow refused to let him leave - would be anything like that player who had the hunger and was so superb for us. The turning point was the start of 2008, and this is a clock that can't be turned back.

So be realistic, and recognise that we had already lost him six months ago - being in the PL changes players and it's definitely changed DK.

A fantastic example of the brilliant insight you always provide us with Dirk

[Southbank Old Boy]

As I said yesterday in UR&G, it's all very well everyone eulogising about losing Dave Kitson. But the truth is that the Dave Kitson that everyone loves - the young, hungry, Dave Kitson who was so superb during the Championship season and the first one and a half PL seasons - has already left and he left us in January.

That was the time of the "holier than thou" newspaper interviews, the talk of a possible England call-up, the "don't you know who I am, I don't need to take a breath test" and so on. I'm convinced that it was around that time that DK decided he'd arrived as a PL player and lost the hunger - the fact that he is prepared to go to a team like Stoke, who will inevitably be fighting relegation all season just supports that fact that DK now believes he has a divine right to be a PL player. Don't forget this is a player who left his previous club by going into the Chairman's office and saying "Mr Chairman, I've decided I've taken Cambridge United as far as I can."

Yes, he was a wonderful servant for us, but don't for a minute that that the DK of the last half of last season (2 goals in 17 games) - or the DK of this year if we somehow refused to let him leave - would be anything like that player who had the hunger and was so superb for us. The turning point was the start of 2008, and this is a clock that can't be turned back.

So be realistic, and recognise that we had already lost him six months ago - being in the PL changes players and it's definitely changed DK.

A fantastic example of the brilliant insight you always provide us with Dirk

Insightful but flawed.

As I think was pointed out yesterday, there wasn't much change in Kitson apart from his goalscoring form, and that was proabably as much down to the team as it was Kits himself.

He may have wanted out, I don't know but I suspect he did, but you could've said all of the above about him 18 months ago.

Maybe Dirk has the inside track on things that have happened behind the scenes to come to the conclusion that we lost Kitson in January, but Coppell seemed to be pretty happy with him for the last 4 months of the season so I don't know how much weight there is to that.

[Royal Lady]

How long did Lita go on loan to Charlton for?

[Southbank Old Boy]

How long did Lita go on loan to Charlton for?

A couple of months

[Blue Heart]

Whether we like it or not football is a business and £5.5 million for Dave Kitson is an excellent piece of business.It is the financial climate in which this game exists. There is no such thing as loyalty from either players or even football clubs, the only people who have a loyalty or devotion to the football club is the fan, that is why we get so het up about things. The player is only loyal to who ever dangles the biggest cheque in front of his nose, there are few notable exceptions to that I mention Parky & Murty as an example, most others would trot out the old argument, short career, injury etc. Well most of us take risks in our daily lives my other half is an electrician, an electric shock in the course of his working day would not do his future prospects any good. If a footballing career is shortened because of injury, why should the working life be over , do what the rest of us ordinary human beings do look for an alternative career. I think a soldier, who in the course of his/her career might actually lose limbs or even life has more right to use that particular argument than any footballer I know.

Now the football club and loyalty, well, I don't for one minute believe that they are interested in me as an individual, only what comes out of my bank account, so I am not really expecting any loyalty from them, which is just as well because I am sure I won't get it.
As for Dave Kitson, he might well utter socially acceptable things such as, I like the club, I like the set up etc etc, but really only three things will have concerned him.
The Premiership.
Any signing on fee.
His wages.
He would not have, I am sure, considered at any stage, that as a contributing member of a team that got relegated, that it would be the decent thing to stick around and try and put it right, he probably won't be in a minority on that one. I am sure there are other ' Rats' that are just waiting to jump ship.
All of this won't stop me supporting 'my' club but I have to come to terms with the fact that the lovely old football club I started supporting all those years ago is no longer. It is a money driven machine wearing blue & white hoops and it is my money along with all other Reading Fans that feeds it. I could stop going , but I won't, because all those years ago I made a committment to support through thick, thin and indifference, that is a habit that is hard to break. It is a constant battle between my head and my heart and my heart will win every time. I suppose that is LOYALTY for you.

[Sarah Star]

I suppose in reality Reading is a 'money machine' and the players 'do it for as much as they can get', and after all it is 'just a game'.

Now you can laugh, but in my mind I want to view it as a drama with heroes and villains - it's much more exciting that way - and Kitson comes across as the archetypal hero - who speaks his mind, who came up the hard way from stacking shelves in Sainsbury's, who's a little bit eccentric with his love of Shakespeare, but who scores the goals and creates a little bit of magic on the pitch. Not only that but he does at least look as if he cares about the fans and he does respond to letters and sign autographs and talk to us.

Of course, in real life he may be a big-headed git who tells others what to do and gets on their nerves, but then that's what heroes do in the films, and I'm rather proud of him for at least aspiring to be that sort of hero even if he isn't. That's why I think he connected with the fans - because he seemed like a hero on and off the pitch, and we need heroes.

Well now he's left us 'good guys' and joined another side, so there is no happy ending where he stays and fights it out for Reading and we go up again. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future, but I'm hoping someone else can step up to the job.

[papereyes]

I just watched his interview at Stoke and I can see the point of DG saying "he wanted to be in the Premiership" but, as ever, he's clear, eloquent and makes reasonable points in a reasonable manner.

[Muskrat]

The sell-on clause explained:

http://www.cambridge-united.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10423~1346986,00.html

So was there or was there not a sell on clause? Cambridge are a bit too candid about it for my liking, while we have said there isn't one.

I'm confused

[Wycombe Royal]

The sell-on clause explained:

http://www.cambridge-united.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10423~1346986,00.html

So was there or was there not a sell on clause? Cambridge are a bit too candid about it for my liking, while we have said there isn't one.

I'm confused

There was one but we settled it before Kitson was sold.

[Wycombe Royal]

I just watched his interview at Stoke and I can see the point of DG saying "he wanted to be in the Premiership" but, as ever, he's clear, eloquent and makes reasonable points in a reasonable manner.

Whereas I thought he just came out with the same old cliched stuff that footballers joining a new club say.

[Forbury Lion]

Why is everyone thinking we'll spend whatever we get for Kitson on a replacement? When have we EVER done that??

Im not really expecting us to spend the money on a striker. Right wing is the priority imo, and anyway wasn't Coppell trying to reduce the size of the squad?

Last season was the first season in three years when we actually had 4 strikers available. We'd coped fine with 3 strikers before then so I don't see why things should be any different this time round. We've also got Church as extra cover, and if things got really desperate we could get someone in on loan, or if Hunt stays he could play up front.

Your own argument suggests we always have one striker injured, so by having just 3 that will leave us with just 2 when one gets injured.

Such a pity we sold Simon Cox for a pittance.

[Fubar]

Oh shit! Im going to have to change my avitar now....

[PremAddict]

Good bit of business - sad to see him leave, but the team has to move on. When Wenger states that Arsenal are a selling club, what right have we to expect anything more? I'm looking forward to seeing more of the academy players get a run. This is the season when everything gets really real.

[papereyes]

I just watched his interview at Stoke and I can see the point of DG saying "he wanted to be in the Premiership" but, as ever, he's clear, eloquent and makes reasonable points in a reasonable manner.

Whereas I thought he just came out with the same old cliched stuff that footballers joining a new club say.

That's nice.

[kwik-silva]

Good bit of business - sad to see him leave, but the team has to move on. When Wenger states that Arsenal are a selling club, what right have we to expect anything more? I'm looking forward to seeing more of the academy players get a run. This is the season when everything gets really real.

yep. and hopefully the money from that will go towards new players who can fill the gaps