Who should we sign?.

[surrounded by saints]

i.d like to see us sign brett pitman from bournemouth. he,s definitely got an eye for goal, and i think that under brian mc.d could be the next ricky lambert at a reasonable price.

[Royal_Delight]

Some League 1 strikers would also be nice. Should be cheaper than most other strikers out there too provided their team don't get promoted.

Charlie Austin (Swindon Town) - 19 league goals
Billy Paynter (Swindon Town) - 22 league goals
Steve Morison (Millwall) - 17 league goals
Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield) - 18 league goals
Charlie MacDonald (Bentford) - 15 league goals

[TFF]

League 1 defences must be shit

[loyalroyal4life]

Leroy Lita

[Hoop Blah]

Some League 1 strikers would also be nice. Should be cheaper than most other strikers out there too provided their team don't get promoted.

Charlie Austin (Swindon Town) - 19 league goals
Billy Paynter (Swindon Town) - 22 league goals
Steve Morison (Millwall) - 17 league goals
Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield) - 18 league goals
Charlie MacDonald (Bentford) - 15 league goals

It's just a matter of how many goals they've scored (although it's a factor because we need someone with the ability to get the ball in the net) it's about how they play and the qualities they'd bring to the side.

Rhodes might be quite an interesting option, but I do think we need a bit of an older head alongside Long and Church etc.

[Woodcote Royal]

If we sign a forward good enough for the job it doesn't stop Long or Church developing and pushing him out of the side. It just raises the quality.

I really can't see that being the case if playing one upfront remains the norm, as I believe it will. And, I think Long has shown a growing ability to perform this difficult role whilst chipping in a with a respectable goal tally.

If we buy another striker now it will either end up being a waste of money or Church and Long's progress will come to a grinding halt.

Furthermore, if we want to return to the top flight, developing a significant number of our own players will be vital in making that goal financially viable. As a club we have had a dreadful record in this respect going back to the days of Lovell and Williams. I believe we have to learn when to bite the bullet, allow these players the chance to play every week and resist the easy option of just reaching for the cheque book.

Other clubs have been doing it for years whereas this season has been the first in many, many years where we can finally see some real talent coming through the ranks and, funnily enough, it all came about after off loading most of last season's first 11......................we need to learn from this, big time.

I would be very happy for most of our budget to be spent where it is really needed, in defence, and should that mean spending a fortune on Kishnishvilli, so be it........................this side is no longer short of goals and I can only see things improving if we keep the squad intact.

[Sun Tzu]

Other clubs have been doing it for years whereas this season has been the first in many, many years where we can finally see some real talent coming through the ranks and, funnily enough, it all came about after off loading most of last season's first 11......................we need to learn from this, big time.

What lesson is it we should learn though ?

I suspect the actual lesson is that this time we've handled the youngsters properly. Let them have substantial time out on loan at lower division clubs so they 'toughen up' and also let us spot any who really aren;t going to make it.

Then blood them when we are confident they are up to the job.

I don't think the lesson is the one that perhaps was being suggested - that we should push the young players into the first team more quickly.

Would Gylfi have looked half the player he is now if he had been put in the team 2 years ago ? He still struggles physically so I suspect an earlier run might have been far too much for him.

[RoyalBlue]

Hooper costs money hence is out of our price range

we spent 2M on mills last summer and hooper should be around the same price range so dont see why you think that

Maybe because we spent that money on Mills during a transfer window where income from player sales far far exceeded that spent on incoming players!

So who would you have us sell this time around in order to finance the purchase of Hooper?

[Sun Tzu]

Hooper costs money hence is out of our price range

we spent 2M on mills last summer and hooper should be around the same price range so dont see why you think that

Maybe because we spent that money on Mills during a transfer window where income from player sales far far exceeded that spent on incoming players!

So who would you have us sell this time around in order to finance the purchase of Hooper?

I doubt we'd need to sell anyone, we'll just do what we've always done and include money for player purchases in the annual business plan !!

[Royal_Delight]

Hooper costs money hence is out of our price range

we spent 2M on mills last summer and hooper should be around the same price range so dont see why you think that

Maybe because we spent that money on Mills during a transfer window where income from player sales far far exceeded that spent on incoming players!

So who would you have us sell this time around in order to finance the purchase of Hooper?

With the sale of Marek,Cisse,Davies,Mooney and some others maybe we could get 1-2 million. That amount could be used to buy Hooper. May have a possibility that Mr Mad may splash some cash for McD next season. Who knows?

[specialjon]

Surely it's blatent that any cash available will be spent on sorting out our defence as we need at least one player in each position. We've got too many midfielders and strikers on our books, so I reckon it'll mainly be defensive buys and maybe a striker if we move rasiak on.

[Woodcote Royal]

Other clubs have been doing it for years whereas this season has been the first in many, many years where we can finally see some real talent coming through the ranks and, funnily enough, it all came about after off loading most of last season's first 11......................we need to learn from this, big time.

What lesson is it we should learn though ?

I suspect the actual lesson is that this time we've handled the youngsters properly. Let them have substantial time out on loan at lower division clubs so they 'toughen up' and also let us spot any who really aren;t going to make it.

Then blood them when we are confident they are up to the job.

I don't think the lesson is the one that perhaps was being suggested - that we should push the young players into the first team more quickly.

Would Gylfi have looked half the player he is now if he had been put in the team 2 years ago ? He still struggles physically so I suspect an earlier run might have been far too much for him.

So, having spent the best of 20 years loaning out young players to "toughen them up" and then shiping them out because they can't break into the first team, the season after we off load our first team several young playeres break into the first team one of whom proving to be so good no one expected him to stay had we been relegated or still to be here in 12 months time if we're not promoted.

Sigurdsson was clearly being held back as was Cox and Karacan but the lesson I learn here is that some of our fans will never remove their blinkers especially if it involves someone callled Coppell getting something wrong.

[Focher]

Damon Tennant, he's been electric recently playing world cup singles down the bottom park in Twyford

[AndyRFC]

Damon Tennant, he's been electric recently playing world cup singles down the bottom park in South Twyford

Damo's been on fire.

[Ian Royal]

Other clubs have been doing it for years whereas this season has been the first in many, many years where we can finally see some real talent coming through the ranks and, funnily enough, it all came about after off loading most of last season's first 11......................we need to learn from this, big time.

That is utter rubbish Woodcote. Karacan & Pearce made significant break throughs last season. But of course, I'm sure they're rubbish according to you, because they don't fit your utterly biased view.

We haven't had the talent in the ranks until recently because it takes time to bring it through the process and we've been almost constantly on the up for about a decade. Players like Ashdown, Henderson, Tyson and Cox all would have got their chance to really make their mark for us, had we not got promoted to above the level we were when they were brought in.

You can't play 'em 'til you've got ones good enough and they're ready. We have done.

[W&E Royal]

I'd like to point out that Simon Cox left while we were in the Premier League, he was never good enough to play for us then. Woodcote, i don't know you but everything is black and white with you, it's like you've got tunnel vision.

[Sun Tzu]

Other clubs have been doing it for years whereas this season has been the first in many, many years where we can finally see some real talent coming through the ranks and, funnily enough, it all came about after off loading most of last season's first 11......................we need to learn from this, big time.

What lesson is it we should learn though ?

I suspect the actual lesson is that this time we've handled the youngsters properly. Let them have substantial time out on loan at lower division clubs so they 'toughen up' and also let us spot any who really aren;t going to make it.

Then blood them when we are confident they are up to the job.

I don't think the lesson is the one that perhaps was being suggested - that we should push the young players into the first team more quickly.

Would Gylfi have looked half the player he is now if he had been put in the team 2 years ago ? He still struggles physically so I suspect an earlier run might have been far too much for him.

So, having spent the best of 20 years loaning out young players to "toughen them up" and then shiping them out because they can't break into the first team, the season after we off load our first team several young playeres break into the first team one of whom proving to be so good no one expected him to stay had we been relegated or still to be here in 12 months time if we're not promoted.

Sigurdsson was clearly being held back as was Cox and Karacan but the lesson I learn here is that some of our fans will never remove their blinkers especially if it involves someone callled Coppell getting something wrong.

How is Coppell responsible for the last 20 years of youth development ?

We'll never know whether Gylfi would have been successful if he had been played in the firstteam a year ago.

We do know that he's been ssuccessful this season, but still strugglesphysically. Which kind of suggests that 12 months ago he'd have struggled even more to make 90 minutes every week.

To argue that becasue a player was handled one way, and that way worked, that he should have been handled differently is a massive illogicality. And therefore entirely as we'd expect from the blinkered anti Coppellite !!

Going to Watford today Woodcote ?

[Woodcote Royal]

I'd like to point out that Simon Cox left while we were in the Premier League, he was never good enough to play for us then. Woodcote, i don't know you but everything is black and white with you, it's like you've got tunnel vision.

In this case things are very much black and white.

Until this season, we had had no young players come through the ranks to establish themselves in the first team since the early 90's...........................that is a pathetic record for a club that has invested significant amounts of money in this area and I'm saying this hasn't happened by accident..............................we must have been making significant errors in that time and I believe this seasons unique set of circumstances sheds some light on where we have been going wrong.

It is, of course, utterly typical of Sun Tzu and Ian to merely leap to the defense of their God Steve Coppell whilst accusing people like me of bias

When Coppell was wiping the flloor with all before him in the Championsip and coming within a whisker of Europe no one was more full of praise for him than me but, unlike some I didn't want to have his babies and therefore refuse to excuse him for all the significant errors that led to relegation and the teams utter capitulation in the early months of 2009.

I note that Sun Zsu is so loved up that he accuses me of blaming Coppell for this problem going back 20 years, where? You silly man

However, whilst it is true that in the previous decade we struggled to attract the best youngsters and very few nuggets slipped through our grasp once they were here, in Coppells time that started to change.

Did we do all we could to keep Simon Cox? Would you sooner have Cox in our squad now or Lita? If you were Cox and knew you had the talent that saw him score 35 goals in one season for Swindon, would you hang around at struggling Reading as 5th choice striker behind the largely goalless Leroy

Excusing Ian (because his bias clearly prevents him from approaching this subject objectively) Does anyone seriously believe that a player who played virtually no part in our first team squad last season would have made a fraction of the impact Sigurdsson has in this campaign had Steve Coppell still been in charge?

Make no mistake, and forget Sidwell, this guy is going be the best midfielder we have ever had by some distance and the absence of virtially any contribution from in the last campaigne is little short of a disgrace.

Had you been given just a sneek preview of this 20 year olds "special" talents 18 months ago, how many months would you have expected him to spend on the bench before demanding a move in the same way as Cox?

Had Coppell stayed Gyphi would, in all probabilty, have gone the same way as most young players who have been attached to this club; loaned out time again until their contracts expired and releasaed to find a future elsewhere.

And, guess what? Most of us, myself included, would not have batted an eyelid if this had been Gylphi's fate because the vast majority would never have set eyes on this "special" talent.

I first saw Gylphi against Burton in the cup and was seriously impressed. There was less than 6k there that night and my guess is he would have already been out on loan by that stage had Coppell still been here.................................let the "We love you, Stevie" party commence.

[Drew_3]

I'd like to point out that Simon Cox left while we were in the Premier League, he was never good enough to play for us then. Woodcote, i don't know you but everything is black and white with you, it's like you've got tunnel vision.

In this case things are very much black and white.

Until this season, we had had no young players come through the ranks to establish themselves in the first team since the early 90's...........................that is a pathetic record for a club that has invested significant amounts of money in this area and I'm saying this hasn't happened by accident..............................we must have been making significant errors in that time and I believe this seasons unique set of circumstances sheds some light on where we have been going wrong.

It is, of course, utterly typical of Sun Tzu and Ian to merely leap to the defense of their God Steve Coppell whilst accusing people like me of bias

When Coppell was wiping the flloor with all before him in the Championsip and coming within a whisker of Europe no one was more full of praise for him than me but, unlike some I didn't want to have his babies and therefore refuse to excuse him for all the significant errors that led to relegation and the teams utter capitulation in the early months of 2009.

I note that Sun Zsu is so loved up that he accuses me of blaming Coppell for this problem going back 20 years, where? You silly man

However, whilst it is true that in the previous decade we struggled to attract the best youngsters and very few nuggets slipped through our grasp once they were here, in Coppells time that started to change.

Did we do all we could to keep Simon Cox? Would you sooner have Cox in our squad now or Lita? If you were Cox and knew you had the talent that saw him score 35 goals in one season for Swindon, would you hang around at struggling Reading as 5th choice striker behind the largely goalless Leroy

Excusing Ian (because his bias clearly prevents him from approaching this subject objectively) Does anyone seriously believe that a player who played virtually no part in our first team squad last season would have made a fraction of the impact Sigurdsson has in this campaign had Steve Coppell still been in charge?

Make no mistake, and forget Sidwell, this guy is going be the best midfielder we have ever had by some distance and the absence of virtially any contribution from in the last campaigne is little short of a disgrace.

Had you been given just a sneek preview of this 20 year olds "special" talents 18 months ago, how many months would you have expected him to spend on the bench before demanding a move in the same way as Cox?

Had Coppell stayed Gyphi would, in all probabilty, have gone the same way as most young players who have been attached to this club; loaned out time again until their contracts expired and releasaed to find a future elsewhere.

And, guess what? Most of us, myself included, would not have batted an eyelid if this had been Gylphi's fate because the vast majority would never have set eyes on this "special" talent.

I first saw Gylphi against Burton in the cup and was seriously impressed. There was less than 6k there that night and my guess is he would have already been out on loan by that stage had Coppell still been here.................................let the "We love you, Stevie" party commence.

Its Gylfi, but top marks for effort!

[W&E Royal]

I'd like to point out that Simon Cox left while we were in the Premier League, he was never good enough to play for us then. Woodcote, i don't know you but everything is black and white with you, it's like you've got tunnel vision.

In this case things are very much black and white.

Until this season, we had had no young players come through the ranks to establish themselves in the first team since the early 90's...........................that is a pathetic record for a club that has invested significant amounts of money in this area and I'm saying this hasn't happened by accident..............................we must have been making significant errors in that time and I believe this seasons unique set of circumstances sheds some light on where we have been going wrong.

It is, of course, utterly typical of Sun Tzu and Ian to merely leap to the defense of their God Steve Coppell whilst accusing people like me of bias

When Coppell was wiping the flloor with all before him in the Championsip and coming within a whisker of Europe no one was more full of praise for him than me but, unlike some I didn't want to have his babies and therefore refuse to excuse him for all the significant errors that led to relegation and the teams utter capitulation in the early months of 2009.

I note that Sun Zsu is so loved up that he accuses me of blaming Coppell for this problem going back 20 years, where? You silly man

However, whilst it is true that in the previous decade we struggled to attract the best youngsters and very few nuggets slipped through our grasp once they were here, in Coppells time that started to change.

Did we do all we could to keep Simon Cox? Would you sooner have Cox in our squad now or Lita? If you were Cox and knew you had the talent that saw him score 35 goals in one season for Swindon, would you hang around at struggling Reading as 5th choice striker behind the largely goalless Leroy

Excusing Ian (because his bias clearly prevents him from approaching this subject objectively) Does anyone seriously believe that a player who played virtually no part in our first team squad last season would have made a fraction of the impact Sigurdsson has in this campaign had Steve Coppell still been in charge?

Make no mistake, and forget Sidwell, this guy is going be the best midfielder we have ever had by some distance and the absence of virtially any contribution from in the last campaigne is little short of a disgrace.

Had you been given just a sneek preview of this 20 year olds "special" talents 18 months ago, how many months would you have expected him to spend on the bench before demanding a move in the same way as Cox?

Had Coppell stayed Gyphi would, in all probabilty, have gone the same way as most young players who have been attached to this club; loaned out time again until their contracts expired and releasaed to find a future elsewhere.

And, guess what? Most of us, myself included, would not have batted an eyelid if this had been Gylphi's fate because the vast majority would never have set eyes on this "special" talent.

I first saw Gylphi against Burton in the cup and was seriously impressed. There was less than 6k there that night and my guess is he would have already been out on loan by that stage had Coppell still been here.................................let the "We love you, Stevie" party commence.

BM has already stated that Gylfi was too weak last season, he went to Crewe and Shrewsbury to toughen up. BM when talking about this mentioned that everyone at the club including Coppell knew he was special but too weak and slight for the Championship, he also said that everyone at the club were surprised how much work he had done over the summer to build himself up.

Cox would never have got in our side in the Premier League and yes i would love him in our side now.

The problem with our academy was that we moved forward so quickly as a club that our acadamy couldn't keep up, perhaps if we had never had been promoted to the Championship the we would have seen more players coming through, now we have levelled out as a club we are seeing the benefits.

I do agree that perhaps if we had Gylfi and maybe McAnuff last season we probably would have gone up, we had no set piece taker after Hunt signed his new deal so Gylfi would have been ideal.

I don't agree with your thoughts on Ian, i think everything he does is magic.