Kalifa

[1960]

When he came to us from Boavista my brother, who supports Boavista and has seen them regularly, said that he was a really good buy. Strong midfield bosser and all the rest. I posted this, but the Hobnob massive was distinctly underwhelmed. It should be a lesson for the "be brilliant immediately or we'll boo you" brigade, but I doubt if it will sink in. FFS give new players some time, especially if they come from abroad.

[rg6royal]

Well from what I saw of him yesterday, I'm very impressed. Lets just hope that this wasn't a one off and that he continues this kind of form in the future. The question which is still open to debate is who will be his ideal partner in midfield? Karacan is definately one for the future and he has already showed signs of so much talent during his time on the pitch. Marek Matejovsky is obviously our best attacking option in the squad and I believe once he's match fit he will be in there alongside Cisse.

[winchester_royal]

He was immense yesterday for sure. We need him to be making tackles, and not doing the James Harper 'running about alot but doing feck all' routine that he did during the Charlton game.

I actually thought that when we went with Marek playing just off Doyle we kept the ball really well and strung some nice passing moves together, it's definately an option that we now have with Marek coming back.

[Platypuss]

I actually thought that when we went with Marek playing just off Doyle we kept the ball really well and strung some nice passing moves together, it's definately an option that we now have with Marek coming back.

Must have been an impressive five minutes.

[winchester_royal]

I actually thought that when we went with Marek playing just off Doyle we kept the ball really well and strung some nice passing moves together, it's definately an option that we now have with Marek coming back.

Must have been an impressive five minutes.

It was actually, and then Shlong came on.

[Morph]

I actually thought that when we went with Marek playing just off Doyle we kept the ball really well and strung some nice passing moves together, it's definately an option that we now have with Marek coming back.

Must have been an impressive five minutes.

It was actually, and then Shlong came on.

[Half Man Half Biscuit]

Blooody great goal. Get in there my son.

[Royalwaster]

When he came to us from Boavista my brother, who supports Boavista and has seen them regularly, said that he was a really good buy. Strong midfield bosser and all the rest. I posted this, but the Hobnob massive was distinctly underwhelmed. It should be a lesson for the "be brilliant immediately or we'll boo you" brigade, but I doubt if it will sink in. FFS give new players some time, especially if they come from abroad.

Are you implying that Emerse Fae might after all be quite good .... ? BTW, anyone know how he's getting on?

[Woodcote Royal]

I think this shows what competition for places can do for a team provided that the manager picks on merit, rather than favouritism/length of service etc as Steve Coppell was guilty of for much of last season and which ultimately led to relegation.

Gunnar and Gem did well but when they where dropped after defeat Harps and Cisse grabbed their chances with both hands. That's the way it should be but it wouldn't have happened last season because hell would have frozen over before Harps got dropped.

It's nice to see us learning from past mistakes, not to mention Cisse getting some recognition as he never deserved a lot of the stick he received from certain quarters.

[Royal Rother]

Coppell has worked wonders in improving relatively unknown players over the years. If they have the right stuff and are prepared to think and learn then Coppell will usually improve them but having seen Cisse consistently perform like a lost soul in midfield I had virtually given up on him being anything other than a useful squad player when we needed cover in central defence.

The fact that he is suddenly getting rave reviews as a dominant midfield force is a massive surprise to me. Well done to all connected with his development, not the least the man himself, and long may it continue!

[Ian Royal]

For a player who's always looked about league 1 level in midfield whenever I've seen him play Cisse is certainly contributing to the team and squad right now.

My view is pretty entrenched and I think I'll need to see a performance with my own eyes before changing it. But it could be promising and as I said he's chipping in with goals, even if they arent crucial ones. He may well come good in midfield, at this level anyway.

[SteveRoyal]

He's modest, too.
http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/pa ... 05,00.html

[Bill Oddie's Beard]

I do like how he's quitely got on with it, despite not really having a decent run in the side, he hasn't sulked or moaned. Is great to finally see him come good, lets just hope he can keep it up.

[papereyes]

For a player who's always looked about league 1 level in midfield whenever I've seen him play Cisse is certainly contributing to the team and squad right now.

My view is pretty entrenched and I think I'll need to see a performance with my own eyes before changing it. But it could be promising and as I said he's chipping in with goals, even if they arent crucial ones. He may well come good in midfield, at this level anyway.

That's the thing - I saw him against Stoke and Burnley (and briefly at Preston) and was just unimpressed. Add in the QPR game on telly and that's 3 major and 1 minor performance where I saw a very limited player getting in the way of his own team.

I hope that at the next game, I see a performance akin to this weeks rather than the all of the other appearances I've seen.

[Focher]

i remember about a year ago we were raving about him at centre back. 'How come its taken this long to find out centre back is his position','awesome', 'outstanding' i heard you cry. He then promptly has a total mare against Villa and never played there again.

So what im trying to say is, don't get too carried away

[winchester_royal]

Saturday showed that he had potential to be a top class CM.

If he doesn't produce next match then we have 3 other CM's to bring in.

All is good at the Mad Stad!

[loyalroyal4life]

unfortunately he is not consistent enough in his performances

[rfcjoe]

and Harper, Karacan and Bryn are then? Ok.

[papereyes]

If he doesn't produce next match then we have 3 other CM's to bring in.

But, equally, they've not performed consistently.

[Royal Rother]

I know there have been a few flops along the way with Coppell (not so much when we were in this League though) but the fact that a player like Cisse (who many of us had just about written off) is now producing an massively improved performances is fantastic for the club, and should give some ground for optimism even amongst those who are certain we will lose Doyle and Hunt in January.