Dear Mr Chairman

[brendywendy]

and as the prvious coupleof seasosn has show, is any talk of promotion just as silly?

the previous seasons where we made the playoffs after being top 3 most of the season, and last where we almost made the playoffs despite not starting to play properly till february?

this despite shifting a team and a half of quality players

[rabidbee]

and as the prvious coupleof seasosn has show, is any talk of promotion just as silly?

Yes, the same point stands. Anybody who makes any firm predictions before Easter about where teams will finish is just silly. This league is far too close, and far too volatile, to make any really confident predictions before a ball has even been kicked, at any rate.

[weybridgewanderer]

and as the prvious coupleof seasosn has show, is any talk of promotion just as silly?

the previous seasons where we made the playoffs after being top 3 most of the season, and last where we almost made the playoffs despite not starting to play properly till february?

this despite shifting a team and a half of quality players

you can say that, while I will then maintain that had we not made the management change then we were heading for relegation last season so predictions of doom and gloom are just as valid or just as silly as predictions of promotion

[sheshnu]

you can say that, while I will then maintain that had we not made the management change then we were heading for relegation last season

There's really no way of knowing now.

so predictions of doom and gloom are just as valid or just as silly as predictions of promotion

You agree then that predictions of relegations or promotions before Christmas are pretty much a waste of time? After making just such a prediction earlier on in the very same post?

[weybridgewanderer]

predictions are just as valid or just as silly, depends on your point of view

in 05/06 I was predicting in november, after the away game at plymouth, we would get promoted. I actually thought we looked a little special after the away game at preston (game 3)

last season I was predicting after swansea away we would get relegated unless something dramatic changed

So I don't think sensible predications are silly.

Personally I thought the misplaced optimism at the beginning of the season was silly. In this league, to challenge, i think you need a mix of experience, hungry young players and something special

We had that in 05/06

I have a concern now we have too much of the second.

as for the 3rd, we may just have sold that, but I also think Zurab has that extra bit of class and it showed in the 2nd half of last season. But I don't know who will score the goals.

[rabidbee]

last season I was predicting after swansea away we would get relegated unless something dramatic changed

So I don't think sensible predications are silly.

Not proven.

[weybridgewanderer]

you are entitled to your view, I am entitled to mine, the chairman appeared to agree with me, eventually

[sheshnu]

Yeah we probably just sold our main difference-maker, BUT (<-big but) if Kebe and McAnuff can produce their best stuff then I would class them as 'special'.

I think the manager may have realised that there is not enough experience in the squad, hence the signings of Griffin, Khizanishvili, Harte and possibly Hendrie.

Maybe Hunt will play a full season and get us some goals, hope so.

[Terminal Boardom]

But what is the point of Kebe and McAnuff doing their stuff if there is no-one in the middle to take advantage of their good work?

[sheshnu]

None at all, but I'm sure one of the other outfield players can pop up occasionally. Maybe one of the strikers or midfielders, I dunno.

[Still Hate Futcher!]

But what is the point of Kebe and McAnuff doing their stuff if there is no-one in the middle to take advantage of their good work?

Being the eternal optimist I'm hopeful the strikers might score more now that Gylfi has left. As gutted as I was to see him go, I'm not a big fan of playing 1 up front and I think our lone striker has often looked isolated.

Despite what some say, Long, Hunt and Church are all decent enough Championship strikers though admittedly far less prolific than the likes of Kitson, Doyle and Lita were at this level. I think our forwards would all benefit from a 4-4-2 which we'll hopefully revert to now we've lost our best player. That said, I'd still love to see us sign a more prolific striker on loan.

[Hugo Boss]

Please back the club properly or sell up & oxf*rd off.

LOL, basically.

[Woking Royal]

Haven't read all or even much of these many pages, but thought I would make a vey rare appearance to get things off my chest.

Much is said (Mainly by SJM) about how the football club needs to be run well on a firm footing etc blah, blah, blah.

But surely the football club exists & enters leagues to achieve its highest possible potential, in this case established Premiership football.

Any side failing to do that is falling short of its aims and potential, and any team that has had that in its grasp & then squandered it is surely by definition badly run. Sure enough we could be considered to have been unlucky to get relegated that year, but the systematic dismantling of the side & any ambition since has been frankly depressing.

If SJM is really believing that we cannot compete with the big boys then why does he just not say it clearly instead of all this old fanny about having premiership ambitions. The side we have at present, and the way it is playing, is not likey to even tempt me back to the Mad Stad in a hurry, much less achieve promotion!! It came to something when I was enjoying shopping on a Saturday more than watching 11 apparently professional footballers in hoops unable to find another one similarly dressed from more than 5 yards.

All I am saying is please Mr Mad give me a break from all this firm financial foundation blah, blah. If you weren't up for it you shouldn't have got involved. You loved it up when you were having this & that named after you, and you were basking in the (self) glory.

Jeeez

[rob the royal]

Please back the club properly or sell up & oxf*rd off.

Point 1: He is backing the club properly. He makes the big decisions, he is also a figurehead for the club. He is giving his 'unwavering support' and he has 'ambition to return to the Premiership.' What more could anyone want from a Chairman?

Point 2: He has been trying to sell the club for years... unfortunately nobody seems to want to buy it, not at whatever price he wants for it.

In all serious though, when he says my 'support' for Reading is 'unwavering' what exactly is he saying... does that mean that actually he is still putting money into the club and we're still or were (prior to the Sigurdsson deal) having trouble meeting the club's deficit?

Or was that really just a throw a remark because he thought it would reassure a few people that he wasn't just going to sit around doing nothing while he waits for a buyer to appear?

[brendywendy]

can some one please put a figure on how much exactly you think madejskis publicity and ego have gained from owning the club. once done i shall email him, and ask him to knock this value from the total of his debts to the club.

any team that has had that in its grasp & then squandered it is surely by definition badly run.

roobish
its football ffs. 20 odd teams, of 11 players kicking a ball about
sometimes stuff happens that we dont want it to.
the key is to plan for either eventuality, and respond quickly and decisively when things go wrong

[sheshnu]

All I am saying is please Mr Mad give me a break from all this firm financial foundation blah, blah. If you weren't up for it you shouldn't have got involved. You loved it up when you were having this & that named after you, and you were basking in the (self) glory.

Maybe he hasn't got as much money now as he did when he built the new stadium, training facilities, hotel, media centre, premier league team etc. Where do you think RFC would be now if he hadn't have 'got involved'?

[Top Flight]

Woking Royal....

You cannot and should not spend money that you don't have! Especially in these times when banks are not lending to businesses. If we don't have money then we have no choice but to sell players like the Sig.

We wouldn't have been able to afford Kish's wages if we hadn't sold Sig. You just need to get real. Just support the Royals for what it is.

You and many fans need to re-align your expectations. The only thing Madejski is guilty of is not managing the expectations of the fans, that's why fans are now getting frustrated.

Message to the Mad Man. Just tell it as it is in future and you won't get all these fans living in cloud cuckoo land and getting dissapointed.

[Sarah Star]

If SJM is really believing that we cannot compete with the big boys then why does he just not say it clearly instead of all this old fanny about having premiership ambitions. The side we have at present, and the way it is playing, is not likey to even tempt me back to the Mad Stad in a hurry, much less achieve promotion!! It came to something when I was enjoying shopping on a Saturday more than watching 11 apparently professional footballers in hoops unable to find another one similarly dressed from more than 5 yards.

All I am saying is please Mr Mad give me a break from all this firm financial foundation blah, blah. If you weren't up for it you shouldn't have got involved. You loved it up when you were having this & that named after you, and you were basking in the (self) glory.

Jeeez

Tbf to him, he has been saying we'd have to cut our coat etc ever since we came down from the prem. No one liked hearing it much then either.

[Royal Lady]

Yes - but whoever "cut their cloth" and still managed to compete at the highest level?

I'd rather he just didn't say anything. I don't think we'll be seeing him for a while now after all this.

[rob the royal]

Tbf to him, he has been saying we'd have to cut our coat etc ever since we came down from the prem. No one liked hearing it much then either.

I wore my coat, with golden lining
Bright colours shining, wonderful and new
And in the east, the dawn was breaking
And the world was waking
Any dream will do

A crash of drums, a flash of light
My golden coat flew out of sight
The colours faded into darkness
I was left alone

May I return to the beginning
The light is dimming, and the dream is too
The world and I, we are still waiting
Still hesitating
Any dream will do