Are we screwed?

[Millsy]

Not a negative post, a genuine question as I've been out the loop since the end of the season. I'm hoping I can be reassured.

Now we've lost the loan players are we not going to be in trouble? It doesn't look like any of them are staying permanently or for repeat loans. On top of that we're possibly losing Barrow/Loader etc.

Part of me was thinking we would buy Oliveira, Martinez and Baker or Ejaria but that's clearly not happening.

So we're going to be even worse off than before the loanees arrived because of our financial situation.

All of this spells big trouble. Am I the only one who's getting a bit worried?

[Zip]

We just don’t know yet. It does seem certain that we will start the new season with a weaker squad than we finished last season with. The transfer market is very quiet at the moment. It has to pick up soon because the transfer window closes almost a month earlier this time around.

Early days but I can’t see any incomings for a while yet. We still have the likes of Popa and Meyler at the club.

[morganb]

Perhaps an alternative question would be

Who will be the three teams worse than us in the League this year?

[Elm Park Kid]

I would say that without the loan players our squad is below the standard required to stay in the Championship. Not by a lot - and a decent manager with a good club spirit could keep us up without too much trouble. But it also wouldn't take much for us to spiral into being the worst team in the division.

I'm not expecting us to do much business, so next season really will just be a roll of the die.

Hope to be proved wrong.

[andrew1957]

Assuming that there are few if any signings I think we have to be realistic that if the squad as it is now can finish 21st or better next season that would be a success. Then at the end of next season another whole load of high earners will leave - which might provide a bit more wriggle room for new signings.

On two positive notes many other clubs will equally be affected by FFP and I assume this is why there have been few Championship signings so far. Maybe the Championship standard will be a good deal lower in the coming season - which will enable us to finish a tad higher. Secondly we have a strong Academy with lots of promising youngsters and if 3-4 can establish them next season that could set us up well for 2020/21.

The worries for me are whether the likes of Moore will want to stick around for another season of struggle and will Mr Gomes also be up for another tough season? And will the fans be patient as the club sorts out the finances?

It is all a bit of an unknown right now.

[Lower West]

The Gods smiled down on Reading after Gomes arrival. Despite the January fire sale of assets. We managed to turn it around The post season pessimism is entirely predictable. Whatever the transfer business we achieve. We do appear to have acquired a great management team. The passion is infectious.

Although not full of household names. I can see next years team being a fully committed bunch. That'll work their socks off for each other. They'll be no passengers.

Even just finshing a few places higher will be a major step forward.

[Zip]

Assuming that there are few if any signings I think we have to be realistic that if the squad as it is now can finish 21st or better next season that would be a success. Then at the end of next season another whole load of high earners will leave - which might provide a bit more wriggle room for new signings.

On two positive notes many other clubs will equally be affected by FFP and I assume this is why there have been few Championship signings so far. Maybe the Championship standard will be a good deal lower in the coming season - which will enable us to finish a tad higher. Secondly we have a strong Academy with lots of promising youngsters and if 3-4 can establish them next season that could set us up well for 2020/21.

The worries for me are whether the likes of Moore will want to stick around for another season of struggle and will Mr Gomes also be up for another tough season? And will the fans be patient as the club sorts out the finances?

It is all a bit of an unknown right now.

Agree with this. We will not be the only ones concerned about FFP so there is likely to be less transfer spend all round. We really need to keep hold of Moore otherwise we won’t have a single senior centre back.

[Snowflake Royal]

We're in the same dangerous territory we've been in for years.

But a lot of the repairs have started. A tight, well motivated, drilled and dedicated squad can take you a long way in the Championship and there's plenty of promise in our Academy.

With the work we're doing, even if the worst happens and we go down we'll be much better placed to recover than we would have been this season.

[Hound]

I do think it’s a case of just getting through this year and getting the books balanced. If we can break even this year, we’ll have a nice new training ground, scope to (sensibly) invest and hopefully a number of academy players with some decent experience behind them

The key as ever is getting rid of the players we don’t want to keep ASAP.

[Snowflake Royal]

I do think it’s a case of just getting through this year and getting the books balanced. If we can break even this year, we’ll have a nice new training ground, scope to (sensibly) invest and hopefully a number of academy players with some decent experience behind them

The key as ever is getting rid of the players we don’t want to keep ASAP.

If we're looking adrift at Xmas it's worth just giving as many Academy lads game time as possible for the experience and to prepare them for L1. I don't think it'll be that bad though.

It only takes one Academy lad in each position to breakthrough successfully to seriously bolster our side.

GK: Southwood, Ward, Boyce-clark

CB: Osho, McIntyre, Holmes

CM: East, Holsgrove, Frost

FW: Barrett, Olise, Loader

There's 12 players there who have the potential to step up and contribute positively in our first XI or XVIII regularly. Clearly most won't, at least yet, but there's enough to play the percentages and try.

[windermereROYAL]

With only 9 weeks to go yes obviously.

[Crowbar6753]

We're in the same dangerous territory we've been in for years.

But a lot of the repairs have started. A tight, well motivated, drilled and dedicated squad can take you a long way in the Championship and there's plenty of promise in our Academy.

With the work we're doing, even if the worst happens and we go down we'll be much better placed to recover than we would have been this season.

My thoughts exactly, if we can keep Jose and trim the squad even more then i would be reasonably happy. With a smaller and more hungry squad with a full pre-season under their belts i really think we could push for a mid table finish. It would also be nice to see a few more youngsters having breakout seasons from the U-23s.
I would expect Loader and Oliese to featue more and to continue their improvement, and Rinhomota should get even better which is a huge plus, and anything else will be a bonus.
A fellow Nobber asked the question regarding three teams worse than us? Well its tough to pick three teams worse than us but i do believe theirs a group of maybe 6 teams in the same boat as us.

Wigan - Almost identical to us i believe.
QPR - Fell away badly at the end of last season which often spells danger.
Barnsley - Perennial YO-YO team.
Blackburn - Over achieved last season and may struggle.
Millwall - Same old Millwall lol. Lots of guts but not much class.
Luton - May start well but will get found out quickly. The Champ is a big step up in class.

[Ranty McRantface]

No we are not screwed. This is a bit of an overreaction.

What we are going through is similar to when Brendan took over and we started to see a rise in the number of academy players making the step up. The difference here is we have a better crop of players coming through than back then, they'll be playing a style suited them and already instilled in the 1st team. We also have a manager who is liked and respected by everyone, as well as fully understanding what they have to do to deem the next season a successful one (Solid mid table).

[Forbury Lion]

Too early to say if we're screwed again, but I believe the team will start this season in a better position than last in terms of commitment/atmosphere and playing style and the manager/team who pull the strings have demonstrated a better understanding of what players we need to sign as demonstrated by the loan signings who all added value & worked out well.

Goalkeeping position does bother me - We've let arguably our best keeper go (excluding the loan signing) and the two who remain were both 3rd and 4th choice so they're not necessarily going to be up to the job and that could affect their morale, which in term may affect their performance.

[Getthebeerens]

I wouldn't say we are screwed. In my opinion if we had Jose Gomes at the start of last season I don't think we would of been near the relegation zone at all.

Club seem to be addressing the issues that have contributed to poor season after poor season. Shrinking down the squad size and getting rid of big earners. We just need to be smart with our incomings this summer, quality of quantity and ideally players with a resale value.

[Denver Royal]

It is all a bit of an unknown right now. Will the fans be patient as the club sorts out the finances?

Some will and some won't. That's a 'known'. Suspect there will be opportunities for the Clement comparisons to continue and for us to be told yet again that things were improving, he was unlucky to be fired, etc.
.

Too early to say if we're screwed again, but I believe the team will start this season in a better position than last in terms of commitment/atmosphere and playing style and the manager/team who pull the strings have demonstrated a better understanding of what players we need to sign as demonstrated by the loan signings who all added value & worked out well.

Yes, well said, and prolly best to assess this the week b4 the 1st game following the Summer activities. But anything's possible. Before playoff season we finished 17th and 19th. Look at Sheff Utd's success. Commitment, atmosphere, work ethic, good manager, etc. Hoping the Gomes factor is huge and helps offset the financial constraints.

[Maneki Neko]

looks like we will be reliant on loanees again this year, looking at the accounts/FFP sitch
guess it will depend who we can sell for what fee, and what kind of player we can attract when not paying the high wages we were.

[The Enfield Royal71]

Im saying it now and when it happens I will quote this post and run naked through town shouting "i love ian royal"

We will finish in the bottom 3 and I have put a bet on it that we will do so.

[Hendo]

Im saying it now and when it happens I will quote this post and run naked through town shouting "i love ian royal"

We will finish in the bottom 3 and I have put a bet on it that we will do so.

Quoted for prosperity.

[The Enfield Royal71]

Im saying it now and when it happens I will quote this post and run naked through town shouting "i love ian royal"

We will finish in the bottom 3 and I have put a bet on it that we will do so.

Quoted for prosperity.

What does that mean?