Fans' Forum - Thursday 8th May
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The 17 Bus
- Hob Nob Regular
- Posts: 3154
- Joined: 24 May 2006 21:08
I think they are due to be done soon, Starliason was saying was a matter of someone getting them typed up.
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valiant royal
- Member
- Posts: 11
- Joined: 14 Apr 2004 12:04
- Location: The Vale end of Stoke-on-Trent
Any news on if/when/how the notes on the forum will be made available to us STAR exiles who couldn't be there ?
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fridays child
- Member
- Posts: 166
- Joined: 15 Apr 2004 11:03
Or anyone who wasn't there
Q: Will SC stay as manager @ RFC regardless of what happens on Sunday?
A: With 20/20 hindsight he would change some of the things he’s done. He likes a small squad – 18-20 players. Had to buy potential players some without RFC mentality. Whatever happens a lot of activity will happen on Monday regardless. SC will consider what he has left to give then as well. He really enjoys the job.
Q: Gary O’Neill, Cahill, Matt Taylor – did we show any interest?
A: We did agree a fee for Scott Brown (went to Celtic) but agent wouldn’t even consider looking around unless RFC guaranteed £xk per week. O’Neill was a possibility, but SC thought Little would be back soon. SC couldn’t make his mind up, so in the end it was a “No”. Cahill – for £5M SC didn’t think he was any better than what we had already and SC wants to get players who are better than existing players. Taylor – only if Shorey had left, and even then he prefers midfield, not left back.
Q: Why change 6 players for Arsenal game?
A: Combination of some playing poorly, some not in side deserving of a chance, and a little bit to counter threat from Arsenal. So many players have been poor this season – Hunt got player of season almost by default.
Q: many changes can seem like a panic – will there be a steady team for Derby (Murty and Bikey in defence) plus Marek for his flair?
A: Good chance Marek will play. Steady squad plus a little freshness.
Q: Henry, Robson-Kanu, Keracan – how about giving them a go (can’t be worse than others)?
A: Not been playing regularly while on loan at a lower level – very big ask to step up. Certainly would look like a panic.
Q: have we been disadvantaged by spending less than everyone else?
A: Yes and No. Wages more a problem than fees. If we smash the wage structure it will cause havoc within the squad. Realistically we could have spent £10M in the summer. To go to the next level takes £50-100M. If we get new money then that is a possibility, but on the other hand the new man would want THE say in everything – JM lets SC get on with it all now.
Q: Please can you explain the performances at home to Bolton and Fulham?
A: Very hard. Last season we got points where we didn’t deserve them. This season we have what we deserve. If we go behind there is a feeling that we will lose. Not so in previous 2 years. Desire and work is there, but players are uptight in recent games. With 1 or 2 exceptions it means an awful lot to them all.
Q: What has happened to Shorey?
A: Shorey was close to Sidders. Sidders may not play much these days but he is now a very wealthy man. Shorey was offered a good contract (best in RFC history) and it wasn’t rushed through due to his wedding. When he came back from honeymoon he was adamant that he wanted to move. SC said he could go if he could find a replacement and a good offer came in for him. West Ham offered £4M which was not enough (Baines to Everton was more and he wasn’t England player) – even Shorey admitted that it was not a fair price. There was no interest since and no increased bids. Shorey has felt unsettled but basically he’s not been playing as well (but knows he needs to play well to get a good move). He was disappointed that there was no interest in January. Chances are (almost guaranteed) that he will leave in the summer.
Q: Will Murty play for RFC again after his testimonial?
A: Depends on Sunday and his mentality – if he wants it enough he will play for RFC again. Maybe there is another challenge for him.
Q: Kitson form has fallen away after his FA Cup comment and drink drive conviction – have these contributed?
A: No. Kitson always makes strange comments. Football is not everything to him. Maybe he is trying too hard, or it is just the way the club has gone.
Q: Doyle – works hard but no goals. How does he keep his starting place?
A: Everyone has had their chance (maybe Long hasn’t). Doyle has had same number of chances as last year. Kitson gives something the others can’t, so basically Kitson plus one other. Leroy stopped doing it in training. Lita much better now. Basically it hasn’t happened for any of our strikers this season.
Q: What is Lita position for next season?
A: He’s buzzing at the moment. Loan was a good thing for him. No point discussing next season before Sunday. Come what may some players will be moving on.
Q: Lots of players fall over in games – is this their footwear?
A: No.
Q: Team spirit seems to have been eroded – is this due to foreign players or perhaps heads being turned by the Premiership?
A: Bit of both. Sc only concession to Second Season Syndrome is that a few players were getting ideas above their station around September/October 2007. Maybe the squad is too big (given transfer window maybe 25 max). SC has never had many injuries due to the training methods used.
Questions from the floor
Q: Who has the most bottle if it came down to a last minute penalty to keep us up?
A: No question. Hunt.
Q: When will we see output from the Academy?
A: The higher we are the more difficult it is. Club are working very hard on this.
Q: Why have we shipped so many goals and scored so few?
A: Don’t know why. We just played better last season. This season SC has never been comfortable with the defence.
SC – at times early season our football was “batter” than last season, but not as effective. Teams like RFC at this level need to be effective and a different angle in order to be able to compete.
SC – Wage bill now about £20M. Was about £4M in Championship. Getting relegated the problem is reducing wage bill by getting rid of players, not really who we can get in. If we do go down we will have one of the biggest wage bills.
SC – One of my biggest mistakes is being too loyal to some of the players. Made the same mistake at Palace. Sc feels too close to the players to make the changes. At Palace the best thing he did was leave and let a new man axe the players that SC couldn’t.
Q: Fae – will he ever make it at RFC?
A: realistically he will never play for RFC again while SC is manager, given what has happened recently. He hasn’t taken on board the RFC mentality.
SC – The players get what they want on away trips. No reason for excuses. Most have single rooms now, but still 4/5 pairs room together. All get whatever food they want and the hotels are excellent.
Q: Why have the corners been so bad?
A: Plan against Spurs was to expose weak Keeper (SC doesn’t rate Robinson as a good Keeper or the other chap who actually played) with pacey near post corners. Squeeky bum time leads to mistakes and there were some poor corners.
SC – Shorey yellow card for throw-in against Hunt’s back. Called up Keith Hackett to complain. Agreed it was totally wrong and Hackett asking FA to quash. SC comment was “but I still had a player on a yellow for 60 minutes”. Coppell against Ref’s having to explain post-match and thinks we have a good set of refs.
A: With 20/20 hindsight he would change some of the things he’s done. He likes a small squad – 18-20 players. Had to buy potential players some without RFC mentality. Whatever happens a lot of activity will happen on Monday regardless. SC will consider what he has left to give then as well. He really enjoys the job.
Q: Gary O’Neill, Cahill, Matt Taylor – did we show any interest?
A: We did agree a fee for Scott Brown (went to Celtic) but agent wouldn’t even consider looking around unless RFC guaranteed £xk per week. O’Neill was a possibility, but SC thought Little would be back soon. SC couldn’t make his mind up, so in the end it was a “No”. Cahill – for £5M SC didn’t think he was any better than what we had already and SC wants to get players who are better than existing players. Taylor – only if Shorey had left, and even then he prefers midfield, not left back.
Q: Why change 6 players for Arsenal game?
A: Combination of some playing poorly, some not in side deserving of a chance, and a little bit to counter threat from Arsenal. So many players have been poor this season – Hunt got player of season almost by default.
Q: many changes can seem like a panic – will there be a steady team for Derby (Murty and Bikey in defence) plus Marek for his flair?
A: Good chance Marek will play. Steady squad plus a little freshness.
Q: Henry, Robson-Kanu, Keracan – how about giving them a go (can’t be worse than others)?
A: Not been playing regularly while on loan at a lower level – very big ask to step up. Certainly would look like a panic.
Q: have we been disadvantaged by spending less than everyone else?
A: Yes and No. Wages more a problem than fees. If we smash the wage structure it will cause havoc within the squad. Realistically we could have spent £10M in the summer. To go to the next level takes £50-100M. If we get new money then that is a possibility, but on the other hand the new man would want THE say in everything – JM lets SC get on with it all now.
Q: Please can you explain the performances at home to Bolton and Fulham?
A: Very hard. Last season we got points where we didn’t deserve them. This season we have what we deserve. If we go behind there is a feeling that we will lose. Not so in previous 2 years. Desire and work is there, but players are uptight in recent games. With 1 or 2 exceptions it means an awful lot to them all.
Q: What has happened to Shorey?
A: Shorey was close to Sidders. Sidders may not play much these days but he is now a very wealthy man. Shorey was offered a good contract (best in RFC history) and it wasn’t rushed through due to his wedding. When he came back from honeymoon he was adamant that he wanted to move. SC said he could go if he could find a replacement and a good offer came in for him. West Ham offered £4M which was not enough (Baines to Everton was more and he wasn’t England player) – even Shorey admitted that it was not a fair price. There was no interest since and no increased bids. Shorey has felt unsettled but basically he’s not been playing as well (but knows he needs to play well to get a good move). He was disappointed that there was no interest in January. Chances are (almost guaranteed) that he will leave in the summer.
Q: Will Murty play for RFC again after his testimonial?
A: Depends on Sunday and his mentality – if he wants it enough he will play for RFC again. Maybe there is another challenge for him.
Q: Kitson form has fallen away after his FA Cup comment and drink drive conviction – have these contributed?
A: No. Kitson always makes strange comments. Football is not everything to him. Maybe he is trying too hard, or it is just the way the club has gone.
Q: Doyle – works hard but no goals. How does he keep his starting place?
A: Everyone has had their chance (maybe Long hasn’t). Doyle has had same number of chances as last year. Kitson gives something the others can’t, so basically Kitson plus one other. Leroy stopped doing it in training. Lita much better now. Basically it hasn’t happened for any of our strikers this season.
Q: What is Lita position for next season?
A: He’s buzzing at the moment. Loan was a good thing for him. No point discussing next season before Sunday. Come what may some players will be moving on.
Q: Lots of players fall over in games – is this their footwear?
A: No.
Q: Team spirit seems to have been eroded – is this due to foreign players or perhaps heads being turned by the Premiership?
A: Bit of both. Sc only concession to Second Season Syndrome is that a few players were getting ideas above their station around September/October 2007. Maybe the squad is too big (given transfer window maybe 25 max). SC has never had many injuries due to the training methods used.
Questions from the floor
Q: Who has the most bottle if it came down to a last minute penalty to keep us up?
A: No question. Hunt.
Q: When will we see output from the Academy?
A: The higher we are the more difficult it is. Club are working very hard on this.
Q: Why have we shipped so many goals and scored so few?
A: Don’t know why. We just played better last season. This season SC has never been comfortable with the defence.
SC – at times early season our football was “batter” than last season, but not as effective. Teams like RFC at this level need to be effective and a different angle in order to be able to compete.
SC – Wage bill now about £20M. Was about £4M in Championship. Getting relegated the problem is reducing wage bill by getting rid of players, not really who we can get in. If we do go down we will have one of the biggest wage bills.
SC – One of my biggest mistakes is being too loyal to some of the players. Made the same mistake at Palace. Sc feels too close to the players to make the changes. At Palace the best thing he did was leave and let a new man axe the players that SC couldn’t.
Q: Fae – will he ever make it at RFC?
A: realistically he will never play for RFC again while SC is manager, given what has happened recently. He hasn’t taken on board the RFC mentality.
SC – The players get what they want on away trips. No reason for excuses. Most have single rooms now, but still 4/5 pairs room together. All get whatever food they want and the hotels are excellent.
Q: Why have the corners been so bad?
A: Plan against Spurs was to expose weak Keeper (SC doesn’t rate Robinson as a good Keeper or the other chap who actually played) with pacey near post corners. Squeeky bum time leads to mistakes and there were some poor corners.
SC – Shorey yellow card for throw-in against Hunt’s back. Called up Keith Hackett to complain. Agreed it was totally wrong and Hackett asking FA to quash. SC comment was “but I still had a player on a yellow for 60 minutes”. Coppell against Ref’s having to explain post-match and thinks we have a good set of refs.
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The Surgeon of Crowthorne
- Member
- Posts: 704
- Joined: 21 Apr 2004 17:29
- Location: THAT WOULD BE AN ECUMENICAL MATTER
Thanks for those, RG30. Some really interesting quotes there, particularly those on Shorey and Lita. I wonder if SC was so candid as he thought he would be gone soon so it didn't matter?
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1871royals
- Member
- Posts: 278
- Joined: 11 Jun 2004 08:57
RG30
So many players have been poor this season – Hunt got player of season almost by default.
SC summing up what a lot of people thought. Hunty our worst POTY
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