Confirmed - Le Fondre to Cardiff

[Royalcop]

Wow! Warped logic that could have come straight out of the Reading FC Media department.

So I pick up a Rolex cheap, sell it for £2K and it is excellent business, despite the fact that the true value of the watch was £4K?! Yes, he did only have a year to run on his contract but even with only a year left, proven goalscorers like him surely command more than £1M. True he wasn't Adkins favourite player and ALF didn't like benchwarming but I don't think Adkins would have been in a hurry to get rid of him unless guaranteed someone better in return (and I doubt he trusts any guarantees at present!). Logic would suggest that the low price had everything to do with the well publicised financial mess that the club is currently in.

What an unutterably stupid analogy - how can you possibly compare a tangible consumer product to an employee on a fixed-term contract (that is shortly due to expire)? He could have walked away for nothing next year and is out of favour with the manager so taking a guaranteed million now makes eminent sense to me, regardless of our true financial state. As for 'proven goalscorers cost more than £1m' - we've consistently proven that not to be the case: Cureton, Forster, Kitson, Doyle, Long even ALF himself were all less than £1m when signed, granted some weren't 'proven' at this level when we signed them but the point remains.

[kwik-silva]

If you like a head-down battering ram type of player who is not very good in the air then I can understand why you would prefer Pog.
I have always wondered how good Alf might be with better players around him-I'm not sure he will necessarily get that at Cardiff although Mutch and Whittingham are good passers of the ball so he might.

Sorry to see him go as I don't think that either Brian or Nigel got the best out of him and often didn't play to his strengths and it doesn't fill me with joy to think that Kanu or Blackman might start in his place-I would have preferred it if both of them had gone to Cardiff.

ALF was obviously impeccable in the air. Pog is much better holding up the ball and bringing other players into play. McCleary and McAnuff were two of the best wingers in the league, and with Guthrie and Williams in the centre I doubt there were many better in central midfield either.

Kanu has played well a few times when he's been up top, but he needs to be far more consistent. I'm actually excited for Blackman, he's shown sparks this year of what he's capable of and I'm just waiting for him to actually achieve it.

As they say,it is all about opinions.
Pog is a big lump who at times does hold the ball up and bring others into play but IMHO not enough.
For his size (6 inches taller than Alf) he is a very poor header of the ball.
The number of time Alf made runs that were not picked out by our players must have frustrated him so much and he will hope that at Cardiff those runs will be appreciated more.

The sad part in your post was "Kanu has played well a few times"-in my view 6 or 7 times in about 6 seasons just isn't enough and those sparks from Blackman?- a mere few minutes of sparks over a whole season for a player who cost £1million is a very poor return.

I personally think it's more than six or seven times, and sure it is with Blackman but he also only played back-to-back 90 minutes once, so it's also difficult to judge him too harshly.

[WestRoyal]

I'll say 2.5million.

The unfortunate thing about ALF is all he knew was how to shoot well. He was average at everything else. Pog is a better striker (and would have been top scorer if ALF didn't take all the penalties)

Just hope we don't play cardiff in January.

disagree, what if ALF had more game time?
Seems the general opinion is now he is gone he wasn't that good anyway.
Bottom line unless we get a like replacement we will miss his goals big time
Gutted he has gone

[Handsome Man]

Sad to see him go, but he wasn't ever that good, apart from scoring loads of goals.

[Forest Gump]

Not the best piece of business dealing really.
Publicise how strapped for cash we are then rush through a deal at this time.
I bet Cardiff got a great deal.
Not always made the best footballing decisions but we've now lost it in the boardroom as well.

[3points]

Should have taken the 2.5m offered by Cardiff on the last day of the January window

[Royal Ginger]

Top quality poacher. Wish him no ill. No Judas, just a victim of circumstance.

On the other-hand, still smarting that Mariappa didn't get relegated.

[Royal Ginger]

Should have taken the 2.5m offered by Cardiff on the last day of the January window

Should have picked the right lottery numbers last week.

[3points]

Should have taken the 2.5m offered by Cardiff on the last day of the January window

Should have picked the right lottery numbers last week.

How do you know that I didn't?

the point being it is likely the club knew ALF wouldn't be offered a contract he would find to his liking or if he didn't figure in NA's long term plans, so the club could have foreseen this to a large extent (and the issues with ownership were well known). I guess there was no time to line up a replacement and the fans would have not been happy with only one recognised striker for the second half of the season.

We move on. Billy Sharp anyone?

[blueroyals]

Favourite player of the post-Coppell era. More concerned about Pog as our only attacking option.....

[Royal Ginger]

Should have taken the 2.5m offered by Cardiff on the last day of the January window

Should have picked the right lottery numbers last week.

How do you know that I didn't?

the point being it is likely the club knew ALF wouldn't be offered a contract he would find to his liking or if he didn't figure in NA's long term plans, so the club could have foreseen this to a large extent (and the issues with ownership were well known). I guess there was no time to line up a replacement and the fans would have not been happy with only one recognised striker for the second half of the season.

We move on. Billy Sharp anyone?

We were also in with a shout of promotion, and as he's been our top scorer for the last three seasons it was certainly worth the gamble. If we'd sold him on the last day of January when they'd bid, after scoring two hat-tricks in the window, we'd now all be saying that we should have kept hold of him and that he might have got us promotion.

[double d]

Although I am sad to see him go, it is not as big a loss as Mccarthy or G Mac, or even Obita. We can more than easy get a decent enough replacement for him for the fee we got for him. I really, really like those Rotherham players Revel, Agard and the blonde guy Pritchard.

I wouldnt mind betting that the three you have just mentioned will be following ALF.

Most likely. I think it would be seen as good business to hold on to even one of them.

[3points]

If we'd sold him on the last day of January when they'd bid, after scoring two hat-tricks in the window, we'd now all be saying that we should have kept hold of him and that he might have got us promotion.

Agreed - damned if you do and damned if you don't. Needed a replacement lined up first, and even then probably would have faced a fair amount of criticism from the fans

[genome]

I hope we don't play Cardiff in January

[blythspartan]

Good luck to ALF at Cardiff..

Just concerned that we had to sale him. NH comments on the official site gave me the impression that a takeover must be a long way off still. Otherwise, why sell him if a billionaire owner is just around the corner.

Could understand if NA didn't see him as part of his plans.

[PremAddict]

Good luck ALF. Looking forward to you scoring against us next season...

[RoyalBlue]

Wow! Warped logic that could have come straight out of the Reading FC Media department.

So I pick up a Rolex cheap, sell it for £2K and it is excellent business, despite the fact that the true value of the watch was £4K?! Yes, he did only have a year to run on his contract but even with only a year left, proven goalscorers like him surely command more than £1M. True he wasn't Adkins favourite player and ALF didn't like benchwarming but I don't think Adkins would have been in a hurry to get rid of him unless guaranteed someone better in return (and I doubt he trusts any guarantees at present!). Logic would suggest that the low price had everything to do with the well publicised financial mess that the club is currently in.

What an unutterably stupid analogy - how can you possibly compare a tangible consumer product to an employee on a fixed-term contract (that is shortly due to expire)? He could have walked away for nothing next year and is out of favour with the manager so taking a guaranteed million now makes eminent sense to me, regardless of our true financial state. As for 'proven goalscorers cost more than £1m' - we've consistently proven that not to be the case: Cureton, Forster, Kitson, Doyle, Long even ALF himself were all less than £1m when signed, granted some weren't 'proven' at this level when we signed them but the point remains.

Different products but not a stupid analogy at all. The argument remains the same. If you have got less than the market would normally pay, you can't possibly claim that you have still had a good deal, simply because you have made a profit. He had a full year left on his contract, not a few months. Your argument that we have consistently proven that proven goalscorers cost more than a million is the ridiculous one, as you use a small number of player purchases from years ago to support it. Not only is it the exceptions but inflation in football has been rampant since that time. How else do you explain paying £1M for Blackman that was supposedly a good deal?! Nor does the fact that a player has fallen out with the manager (not necessarily true anyway) automatically reduce that player's value.

Those who claim we have got a good deal on ALF are no doubt the blind followers who still think that the sun shines out of Madejski's arse, despite the ever increasing evidence of how badly he has screwed things up from since the time that he decided to sell to Zingarevich. Don't forget that the majority of the debts that now threaten us most e.g. unpaid tax would appear to have been run up since that time, when the day to day running of the club was still in the hands of a man reputed to be a brilliant businessman who always stated that RFC would be run on a sensible and prudent basis like a proper business! Well proper businesses make sure they don't get into trouble with HMRC!

Instead we have been paying a comparative fortune to the likes of Samuelson whilst not settling our debts with HMRC. Has it all really just gone pear-shaped over the last few months or were the warning signs already there? If the latter then maybe (much as we would have all howled)the club should have come clean with the supporters (that would be a first) and sold ALF in the last window when his value was likely to have been higher.

[Ginger Ninjas]

This,

First goal.

And this,

Second Goal

Cheers for the memories ALF.

What a night

[genome]

Other clubs and fans' perception of this guy is interesting...

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news ... -year-deal

ross010 says
I like Le Fondre, i'm surprised he's aiming so low though. He proved he can hack it in the Premier League. Even coming off the bench for half a season he managed to score 12 goals. I'm honestly surprised a mid-table prem club haven't bought him.

richie says
great signing by Cardiff

rob says
Good luck to him Cardiff have got a serious player there wouldn't surprise me if hes top scorer in champ next season you have yourself there a bargain.

Yet we're mostly saying no big loss... I'm of the opinion we will miss him unless this takeover goes through and we can spend some money.

[EarleyRoyal16]

Personally think too many people were too quick to criticise ALF. Lacked in other areas besides finishing yes, but like someone said above, he'll do a lot better with better players around him who can make the most of his movement, which really is top drawer, so often he'd make runs which are too clever for his own teammates to even pass into, better players will see those runs and he'll score many next season. He was also a good passer and crosser and decent enough with his head. All aspects I felt people underrated when he was here.

Oh well, cheers for the 3 seasons ALF.

Most notably Saints away, Chelsea home, Newcastle away, Everton home, Blackpool home, Bolton home, oh yeah and Leeds home as well.

Good luck in Cardiff, fully expecting a hattrick at the mad stad.