Rodgers needs two to complete jigsaw - from The Chronic

[Snowball]

Hmmmm...Your stats are selective....especially your two legs theory. After all Forest beat us 1-0 nil over two legs.

Not at all. I was looking at how we fared against the sides at the top Wolves-Birmingham-Sheffield

W4 L2 10-4


and we beat Burnley too 3-2 over two legs, so obviously we had the capability

Another way of looking at it was the fantastic home run (until it went pear-shaped)

[(.)Boobies(.)]

Hob Nob Anyone sources suggest Charlton's £1.5 million-rated Nicky Bailey could also be on Rodgers' radar as a possible replacement for Stephen Hunt.

[loyalroyal4life]

Hob Nob Anyone sources suggest Charlton's £1.5 million-rated Nicky Bailey could also be on Rodgers' radar as a possible replacement for Stephen Hunt.

replacement for s.hunt? how?

[Sun Tzu]

Hob Nob Anyone sources suggest Charlton's £1.5 million-rated Nicky Bailey could also be on Rodgers' radar as a possible replacement for Stephen Hunt.

replacement for s.hunt? how?

One in one out ?

You don;t always have to replace a player with someone of the same type.

Or they could just not have a clue !!

[RoyalBlue]

Thanks to most of our major bids failing to be accepted !!

On the grounds that the clubs involved didn't think them to be major enough!!!

Apart from being irrelevant and wrong that's a good point....

Oh I beg your pardon! Didn't realise that not only are you the absolute authority on RFC but you can now speak with complete authority for every other football club too!!

How the hell can you say it is wrong? There may have been other reasons given as to why people weren't keen to accept our offers. However,the reality is that there is a price at which virtually anyone can be bought. I doubt any club would refuse to sell any player if the bid was major enough. Likewise, offer high enough wages and most players will sacrifice their principles!

[Sun Tzu]

On the grounds that the clubs involved didn't think them to be major enough!!!

Apart from being irrelevant and wrong that's a good point....

Oh I beg your pardon! Didn't realise that not only are you the absolute authority on RFC but you can now speak with complete authority for every other football club too!!

How the hell can you say it is wrong? There may have been other reasons given as to why people weren't keen to accept our offers. However,the reality is that there is a price at which virtually anyone can be bought. I doubt any club would refuse to sell any player if the bid was major enough. Likewise, offer high enough wages and most players will sacrifice their principles!

RB why do you always go on the offensive in such a silly way ?

The point was wrong because at least one of our major bids fell down because the player rejected the move, not because the bid wasn't accepted by the club.
Secondly it was irrelevant because the question was whether there had ever been money for Coppell to spend. Putting in a number of multi million pound bids says there was. The fact that those bids were still not high enough is irrelevant.

Go take a sit down and chill little.

[Thaumagurist*]

Hob Nob Anyone sources suggest Charlton's £1.5 million-rated Nicky Bailey could also be on Rodgers' radar as a possible replacement for Stephen Hunt.

Boobies (LOLove your name), you realise that the chronic also have lazy journalists who check the UR&G and decided that we are actually looking at Bailey.

[Hoop Blah]

RB why do you always go on the offensive in such a silly way ?

The point was wrong because at least one of our major bids fell down because the player rejected the move, not because the bid wasn't accepted by the club.
Secondly it was irrelevant because the question was whether there had ever been money for Coppell to spend. Putting in a number of multi million pound bids says there was. The fact that those bids were still not high enough is irrelevant.

Go take a sit down and chill little.

To be fair, RB's point is valid. The offers are partly the bid, partly the wages, and partly how the attractive the club is to the player. As RB says, the last two are a bit dependant upon each other.

Whether the money was there for Coppell is indeed a slightly different point, however, even if Coppell was able to put in multi-million pound bids for players, it doesn't mean there was enough money to actually go out and get the quality of player we needed.

Personally, my gut feeling is that Coppell had a reasonable 'budget' to go out and improve our squad. It wasn't a massive amount and it wouldn't have been as much as most other clubs but he certainly didn't use it well enough to give us the best chance of staying up.

[Royal Rother]

I am looking forward to a season of good football, with the team strongly featuring a whole crop of our young players.

Bugger spending millions to strengthen the squad to (supposedly) give it a better chance of auto-promo. The future of clubs like ours is more likely to depend upon its ability to nurture and blood young players than it is on how many crumbs it can pick up after the billionaires have left the playground each transfer window.

Forget Madejski's Exit Plan and how much cash the club might generate for him on sale (which many supporters seem more concerned about than the Chairman himself) the club is run as a viable business with a prudent business plan that ensures it has a long term future, independent of any one person's money or influence.

Spending money on new players, over and above the worth they might bring to the team when compared to what is already available to the manager, is not sound business practice. We have players whose value, by getting more experience, will increase, thus potentially generating more revenue, and stimulating more interest in the Academy and ultimately creating a self-perpetuating source of money and players.

Put the brakes on that too much, by buying new players, who might create a blockage to young home-grown talent, and all of a sudden the long-term plan starts to crumble.

Of course PL football is the aim, but it is not the be all and all that we get there in the quickest possible time. If the manager thinks Robson Kanu, Sigurdsson, Church, Karacan, Henry et al show sufficient promise that, with experience, in a year or so they could be as good as anyone he could buy for a million or 2 each now, it would be bloody madness to go out and buy.

[Y25]

As long as Kebe and Long don't start I'll be happy.

Highly unlikely though.

[Royalee]

I am looking forward to a season of good football, with the team strongly featuring a whole crop of our young players.

Bugger spending millions to strengthen the squad to (supposedly) give it a better chance of auto-promo. The future of clubs like ours is more likely to depend upon its ability to nurture and blood young players than it is on how many crumbs it can pick up after the billionaires have left the playground each transfer window.

Forget Madejski's Exit Plan and how much cash the club might generate for him on sale (which many supporters seem more concerned about than the Chairman himself) the club is run as a viable business with a prudent business plan that ensures it has a long term future, independent of any one person's money or influence.

Spending money on new players, over and above the worth they might bring to the team when compared to what is already available to the manager, is not sound business practice. We have players whose value, by getting more experience, will increase, thus potentially generating more revenue, and stimulating more interest in the Academy and ultimately creating a self-perpetuating source of money and players.

Put the brakes on that too much, by buying new players, who might create a blockage to young home-grown talent, and all of a sudden the long-term plan starts to crumble.

Of course PL football is the aim, but it is not the be all and all that we get there in the quickest possible time. If the manager thinks Robson Kanu, Sigurdsson, Church, Karacan, Henry et al show sufficient promise that, with experience, in a year or so they could be as good as anyone he could buy for a million or 2 each now, it would be bloody madness to go out and buy.

Excellent post.

[Thaumagurist*]

As long as Kebe and Long don't start I'll be happy.

Highly unlikely though.

The manager picks the team, not you.

[brendywendy]

As long as Kebe and Long don't start I'll be happy.

Highly unlikely though.

one of those has set up most of our preseason goals etc etc

blah blah

i dont know why i bovver..........

[Hoop Blah]

Agree with a lot of that RR.

As with last season, I'd love to see some of the youngsters given their chance to impress even if it's at the cost of a play off place. My only worry is that if they're not playing in a side that is equipped well enough to challenge and consistently play well then they won't be given the best platform to develope.

The teams progress is still more important that the individuals and if we're just throwing the kids into it like lambs to the slaughter we really could end up having a season like Southampton did last year. All their youngsters impressed enough to be linked with summer moves, but the team didn't do enough to stay up.

We still need a blend and players good enough to compete at the right end of the table.

[Hoop Blah]

As long as Kebe and Long don't start I'll be happy.

Highly unlikely though.

one of those has set up most of our preseason goals etc etc

blah blah

i dont know why i bovver..........

That still doesn't make him good enough for the Championship though.

I think his performances over the last 18 months give a much better indication of how he'll fare this season than a few friendly games against poor quality opposition.

[The Rouge]

I agree that the Madman's investment seems to have stopped (I can understand that). If we get 2 more good players in and Hunt goes for £3m then that will be fine by me.

Other teams have had to consistently source and bring on good young talent, sell some of those and bring in the odd player or two. Some of them have done pretty well doing that (e.g. Burnley). Teams like Forest produced and sold a conveyor belt of talent with next to no reinvestment in the team. (This is the first season they have spent significant amounts in about 15 years from memory).

Rodgers will have a shot of having one burnley-esque season over the next two years, getting promoted and then the club can potentially be bought by someone able/willing to invest in players. I am not saying all this is likely, but it is not that unlikely either...

[Huntley & Palmer]

Notice we have Taylor Morgan on trial, was in the English Schools U19 England squad this year and hasn't been picked up by a club from the look of it. Scored for the reserves against Bromley

http://www.esfa.co.uk/wembley/?Under_18 ... LOR_MORGAN

[Tilehurst Mike]

don't worry, yet more 'spin' from the club in today's EP---'Church is the new Doyle'

The tedious outpouring of 'cutting our cloth accordingly' and lack of significant investment in the team in some quality exerience is beginning to become a bit tiresome. I'mexcited about the young talent we have, but in my view an experienced striker and CB are a must before the season starts.

[Vision]

I am looking forward to a season of good football, with the team strongly featuring a whole crop of our young players.

Bugger spending millions to strengthen the squad to (supposedly) give it a better chance of auto-promo. The future of clubs like ours is more likely to depend upon its ability to nurture and blood young players than it is on how many crumbs it can pick up after the billionaires have left the playground each transfer window.

Forget Madejski's Exit Plan and how much cash the club might generate for him on sale (which many supporters seem more concerned about than the Chairman himself) the club is run as a viable business with a prudent business plan that ensures it has a long term future, independent of any one person's money or influence.

Spending money on new players, over and above the worth they might bring to the team when compared to what is already available to the manager, is not sound business practice. We have players whose value, by getting more experience, will increase, thus potentially generating more revenue, and stimulating more interest in the Academy and ultimately creating a self-perpetuating source of money and players.

Put the brakes on that too much, by buying new players, who might create a blockage to young home-grown talent, and all of a sudden the long-term plan starts to crumble.

Of course PL football is the aim, but it is not the be all and all that we get there in the quickest possible time. If the manager thinks Robson Kanu, Sigurdsson, Church, Karacan, Henry et al show sufficient promise that, with experience, in a year or so they could be as good as anyone he could buy for a million or 2 each now, it would be bloody madness to go out and buy.

Excellent post.

'greed.

[Sarah Star]

don't worry, yet more 'spin' from the club in today's EP---'Church is the new Doyle'

Don't know if it is spin or not, but I thought that when I saw him play at Didcot. Surprised to see Rodgers saying it though.