Sidwell Replacement - Who would you go for?

[Hoop Blah]

Agree. All good sides have a big tough ball winner in the middle. Sidwell is half that player, Harper never will be.

Yeah that Carrick is one big mean toughie at United!

[bigmike]

I would go for anyone who has not and will not back out of 50 50 Balls..

Ever since the start of March Sidwell has been backing out of them.

[Huntley & Palmer]

So would I if I knew I was playing for another club next season

[West Stand Flash]

I would go for anyone who has not and will not back out of 50 50 Balls..

Ever since the start of March Sidwell has been backing out of them.

Very true. Second halfof the season we have barely won a 50/50 or secondary ball.

[TBM]

Dean Whitehead

[Heart and Seol]

Gunnarson... he is quality. Our Best Player When He Has Played.

[Heart and Seol]

Personally I think I could do the job, so Sir Steve, if you are reading this.. give us a ring..

hahaha andy u twat !

though judging on your performance a few months back ...

[Man Friday]

Like many things, the answer is staring us in the face and we haven't even noticed. It's Gunnarson. At least for another season anyway. Probably the most underrated footballet...ever.

[Wycombe Royal]

Like many things, the answer is staring us in the face and we haven't even noticed. It's Gunnarson. At least for another season anyway. Probably the most underrated footballet...ever.

Gunnarsson certainly has a role toplay next season, but if were to rely on him to be the replacement for Sidwell then we WILL struggle. It will also be the biggest indication of a lack of ambition the club will have ever shown - and this message board will be full of comments saying that.

Sidwell will be replaced - that is 100% certain. I will be very surprised if Gunnarsson is a regular in the team next season.

[rob the royal]

i disagree in that yes sidwell will be replaced if he goes. but if gunnarsson continues to play well to the end of the season i think maybe we won't be going for someone as good as we might have gone for, giving the icelander more of a chance to stake a claim next year. however that relies on him doing well. if he can't keep it up to the end of thes season then coppell will probably buy someone better like owen hargreaves (ok maybe not) but u know what i mean

[Huntley & Palmer]

i disagree in that yes sidwell will be replaced if he goes. but if gunnarsson continues to play well to the end of the season i think maybe we won't be going for someone as good as we might have gone for, giving the icelander more of a chance to stake a claim next year. however that relies on him doing well. if he can't keep it up to the end of thes season then coppell will probably buy someone better like owen hargreaves (ok maybe not) but u know what i mean

Quite simply your team must be made up of the very best players available to you, that means that we need to buy someone at least as good as Sidders and Gunnar if not better. Gunnar will not be a first choice at Reading, period

[rob the royal]

i disagree in that yes sidwell will be replaced if he goes. but if gunnarsson continues to play well to the end of the season i think maybe we won't be going for someone as good as we might have gone for, giving the icelander more of a chance to stake a claim next year. however that relies on him doing well. if he can't keep it up to the end of thes season then coppell will probably buy someone better like owen hargreaves (ok maybe not) but u know what i mean

Quite simply your team must be made up of the very best players available to you, that means that we need to buy someone at least as good as Sidders and Gunnar if not better. Gunnar will not be a first choice at Reading, period

no i agree, what i'm saying is if he plays well to the end of the season, it'll probably be someone in the 'as good' or maybe 'as good and still improving' category. if he plays crap then it's an ideal opportunity for coppell to splash a bit of cash on someone better, who will definitely be first choice. but if it's only someone of roughly the same ability as what we've got that comes in, then i could see gunnarsson doing well for us (not saying it's a certainty or anything just that he'd have more chance)

[Wycombe Royal]

i disagree in that yes sidwell will be replaced if he goes. but if gunnarsson continues to play well to the end of the season i think maybe we won't be going for someone as good as we might have gone for, giving the icelander more of a chance to stake a claim next year. however that relies on him doing well. if he can't keep it up to the end of thes season then coppell will probably buy someone better like owen hargreaves (ok maybe not) but u know what i mean

Quite simply your team must be made up of the very best players available to you, that means that we need to buy someone at least as good as Sidders and Gunnar if not better. Gunnar will not be a first choice at Reading, period

no i agree, what i'm saying is if he plays well to the end of the season, it'll probably be someone in the 'as good' or maybe 'as good and still improving' category. if he plays crap then it's an ideal opportunity for coppell to splash a bit of cash on someone better, who will definitely be first choice. but if it's only someone of roughly the same ability as what we've got that comes in, then i could see gunnarsson doing well for us (not saying it's a certainty or anything just that he'd have more chance)

Depends if you just want to stand still with a squad getting older or actually try to move up to the next level.

Buying someone who is only "as good as" Gunnarsson will be a big step backward. We need someone who is better than what we have so that next season our midfield is better than what we have now.

[warrpp]

read a quote from coppell yesterday, that went something along the lines of we'll be replacing like for like"

which i take to mean he'll be going for a ball winner, and i think he's already identified the player he wants (probably did months ago) ?

[rob the royal]

i agree with that, but looks like coppell wants to see if gunnarsson can be more than just a utility man. i think coppell said something like, i need to see what people are like so i know what i need to do in the summer or something like that, which suggests to me that if gunnarsson excels to the end of the season then coppell won't be splashing as much cash as he might have done

[Huntley & Palmer]

Exactly, I think Gunnar knows his place in the current setup and that is a squad player. If anything, I think Harper should be worried about the certainty of his starting place next season if we delve heavily into the transfer market and buy two central midfielders, and rightly so

[Coppell's Right Footed 11]

Exactly, I think Gunnar knows his place in the current setup and that is a squad player. If anything, I think Harper should be worried about the certainty of his starting place next season if we delve heavily into the transfer market and buy two central midfielders, and rightly so

Thank god someone showing some intelligence. Gunarsson is a very good player but at his age he isn't going to be able to play every week. If people feel he is our first choice then does that mean we will bring in a squad player for central midfield like Gunnarsson has been this season? therefore we would be going backwards. Harper in my view needs to be worried about his spot next season, we need creativity in the middle of the park and we have absolutely none at the moment, especially when Steve leaves.

[rob the royal]

it doesn't really matter what 'people' feel though does it? i still think if gunnarsson plays well for the rest of the season that will make a difference to what coppell buys in the summer. this is what coppell has said he is doing. obviously gunnarsson isn't going to be able to play week in week out for the whole season (and i wouldn't wanna see him doing it either for that matter) but if coppell see's him as being perhaps more useful than he thought then he may be more likely to take a punt on someone young who isn't the finished article than someone more expensive who is already playing at the top of their game.

personally if it was up to me i'd take sidwell's leaving as a huge opportunity and just buy someone who was way better than anything we currently have, including sidwell. but i think coppell has slightly different ideas...

[Huntley & Palmer]

it doesn't really matter what 'people' feel though does it? i still think if gunnarsson plays well for the rest of the season that will make a difference to what coppell buys in the summer. this is what coppell has said he is doing. obviously gunnarsson isn't going to be able to play week in week out for the whole season (and i wouldn't wanna see him doing it either for that matter) but if coppell see's him as being perhaps more useful than he thought then he may be more likely to take a punt on someone young who isn't the finished article than someone more expensive who is already playing at the top of their game.

personally if it was up to me i'd take sidwell's leaving as a huge opportunity and just buy someone who was way better than anything we currently have, including sidwell. but i think coppell has slightly different ideas...

We could take a risk on a young up and comer like Halford because we still have Murty and DLC, which in case anyone is interested is the reason DLC is still playing instead of Greg for me. They might give DLC one more season to allow Halford to settle in more, possibly even out on loan as he has only spent a half season in the Championship. In the centre of midfield we do not have the luxury of taking a punt on a young up and coming player and just Gunnar, we need someone that is already established there at this level if at all possible. I would expect us to buy someone around the 26/27 year mark and also a young central midfielder, Gunnar will still remain the utility squad player he is

[zac naloen]

Huntley, I'd hope the same.


If Coppell purchases, I hope he purchases an established midfielder and not an unfinished article. We really need someone to boss that Midfield around for us next season.

With regards to buying a young player, I'm not sure that's entirely necessary really. Looking at our youth squad we already have young players on the verge of being good enough for the prem. Particularly in midfield.