Message from FourFourTwo - HNA? Campaign

[Duke the Dog]

Sorry TBM you lost me at L Jones! Are you mad!?

No one has mentioned Ray Ranson at right back, he's surely been the best right back we've had (well, since 1989 at least!).

Where are all the silver surfers then, no one has mention Ronne Blackman! (and no, I'm not over 50 thank you!).

What about Mr Salako on the left? I know Gilkes was far quicker (well, frankly I think my gran was quicker than Sal) but Sal one of the best (and most consistent) crosser of the ball IMHO. Steve Wood in the middle perhaps? Do Jim Leighton or Chris Wood count? Tommy Wright anyone?

Elsey, Gurney, Whitlock, Conroy, Bailie, Kight, Payne.....ok only joking.

Sorry, I can't provide an 11, I seem to get to about 5 or 6 then have to start again as I remember more players! Wdowcyk has to go in there though, first on the list for me!

[Mary Hinge]

Why has nobody mentioned Ronnie Blackman?

[Forbury Lion]

Manager - Phil Parkinson

GK - Phil Parkinson
DL - Phil Parkinson
DR - Phil Parkinson
DC - Phil Parkinson
DC - Phil Parkinson
MR - Phil Parkinson
ML - Phil Parkinson
MC - Phil Parkinson
MC - Phil Parkinson
ST - Phil Parkinson
ST - Phil Parkinson

[shaka's shorts]

Team since 1974

Hislop
Murty
Shorey
Williams
Inga
Gilkes
Sidwell
Webb
Little
Doyle
Friday

Subs
Hahnemann
Curle
Kerr
Osborne
Sigurdsson
Kerry Dixon
Forster

[PEARCEY]

Pat Earles was always a favourite of mine.

Surely Steve Death, Phil Parkinson and Robin Friday are shoe ins ?

Agree about Friday but certainly not re Parky. He was a tough but limited midfielder IMO.
Steve Death is a tricky one because Shaka was one hell of a keeper(play-off final not so good) for us....but Deathy was apparently the biz although I never got to see him play when I was a kid.

[Garry Baldy]

Marcus Hahnemann
Graeme Murty
Nicky Shorey
Dariusz Wdowczyk
Ivar Ingimarsson
Glen Little
Simon Osborne
Mick Gooding
TommyJenkins
Robin Friday
Jimmy Quinn

Subs
Steve Death
Reading fans everywhere !
Mark White
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Kevin Doyle
Steve Sidwell
Ady Williams
Dave Kitson

[From Despair To Where?]

I'n confused. Does this mean FourFourTwo failed to get a response from Lionel Messi about his favourite Nivea male grooming product and have had to cobble together an issue about something else instead?

Four FourTwo. The footy mag for people who think Tim Lovejoy is witty, urbane and interesting.

Anyway, excluding anyone I never say play or loanees

Hislop
Shorey
Wdowcyk
Ingimarsson
Murty
Little
Sidwell
Gooding
Gilkes
Quinn
Doyle

[bobbybottler]

This is a bit like me and an extensive restaurant menu - in the same way that indecision is abound with what you want to eat, how the hell do you choose between different players? Would love to do this but I, for one, would never be satisfied with who I pick in particular positions.

And with all due respect to the likes of Webb, Sanchez, Friday, Gilkes, Kerr, Dillon, Hislop, Wdowczyk, A Williams, Quinn, Taylor and the many others who have set this club alight with their footballing prowess, who could really look further than the following?

Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Little, Convey, Sidwell, Harper, Doyle, Kitson.

Handbags - just because it's the best team, it doesn't mean that those are the best players.

Hislop, for example, was a better keeper than Hahnemann, although Hahnemann played in a better team.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Deadline passed. Counting up results.

[Binfield Royal]

The greatest Reading team is the one that finished 8th in the Premier League.

All of these other players plied their trade in league One (or Two) and if the 07 team played in that league they would have finished with 120 points

If Robin Friday or Phil Parkinson were that good, they would have been snapped up by a Division One club as happend to Webb and Dixon.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Have people really touted Phil Parkinson as one of our greatest ever? Surely not? He was a player of limited resources and he compensated for that with massively hard work and commitment.

But a greatest ever? I'd not put him in the top 100!

[handbags_harris]

This is a bit like me and an extensive restaurant menu - in the same way that indecision is abound with what you want to eat, how the hell do you choose between different players? Would love to do this but I, for one, would never be satisfied with who I pick in particular positions.

And with all due respect to the likes of Webb, Sanchez, Friday, Gilkes, Kerr, Dillon, Hislop, Wdowczyk, A Williams, Quinn, Taylor and the many others who have set this club alight with their footballing prowess, who could really look further than the following?

Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Little, Convey, Sidwell, Harper, Doyle, Kitson.

Handbags - just because it's the best team, it doesn't mean that those are the best players.

Hislop, for example, was a better keeper than Hahnemann, although Hahnemann played in a better team.

Fully aware of that, but in composing my response my head was always thinking "was Gilkes really better than Convey?" or "was Adi Williams really better than Ingimarsson or Sonko?". My initial thoughts were "yeah, easy", but then you start to think of other players who had different qualities but played the same position. And then you start to think about the level that each player played at, and the era they played in.

Hislop was a superb keeper, but better than Hahnemann? That's a very very tough one to call. By the same token, give me players who were better than Murty, Shorey, Ingimarsson, Sonko, Little, Sidwell, Doyle and Kitson. I seriously don't think there are any. And it is arguable that there aren't any better players to have played for Reading in their positions than Convey and Harper...

[Duke the Dog]

Yeah, well, it's all quite subjective isn't it. Skill, determination, character, build, pace etc. All different for different positions and rated differently by different people.

Can't argue that all those you list are up amongst the best, but that team didn't have any stand out players (they were all good). But I think head to head some can be challenged (for me Quinn was a great striker and could push Kitson for a spot, Dixon could probably push Doyle for a spot etc etc). Even Caskey had good points, shame he had no stamina, pace or arial ability !

As for Friday, well, he only played for us because he had "other" interests at odds with a career in Football at a higher level! Was he not the only player to be named as 2 different clubs player of the century for (IIRC for another 442 article)?

[Gordons Cumming]

arial ability !

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Would someone mind tallying up the scores and then selling me a PM.

[readingbedding]

Hello,
FourFourTwo magazine here. We need your help!

We're now working on our April issue, which is a Football League special.

Within it, we are to display a 'Perfect XI' for every Football League club
(ie. a dream team of the best players to ever represent that club).

As such, we're looking for a match-going supporter from each team who knows
the club's history to give us their views as part of the decision process.

The 72 fans who help us out will each get their name in the magazine
alongside their respective team.

What formation would you pick? Which 11 players? And which manager? Clearly
the formation has to be workable - you can't pick five forwards, for
example!

If you'd be interested in helping us out, and you think you could
objectively pick a team + manager based on the club's history (and not just
over the last decade!), we'd love to hear from you.

Please email: charlie.ghagan@haymarket.com (there's no need to send a team
quite yet though)

Thanks!
FourFourTwo

Should we make a collective effort and send it to FourFourTwo under the HobNob Anyone? name.

Manager -

GK -
DL -
DR -
DC -
DC -
MR -
ML -
MC -
MC -
ST -
ST -

We could all suggest a team and the players with the most mentions will get into the overall team. I'll tally up the results and announce the final team before Saturday.

Spoke to Charlie, their offices are just off Southwark High St nr Tate Modern.
Dream team submitted!!!

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Is this your dream team or our dream team?

[Skin]

so what was the team submitted!!???

[papereyes]

Yeah, well, it's all quite subjective isn't it. Skill, determination, character, build, pace etc. All different for different positions and rated differently by different people.

Can't argue that all those you list are up amongst the best, but that team didn't have any stand out players (they were all good). But I think head to head some can be challenged (for me Quinn was a great striker and could push Kitson for a spot, Dixon could probably push Doyle for a spot etc etc). Even Caskey had good points, shame he had no stamina, pace or arial ability !

As for Friday, well, he only played for us because he had "other" interests at odds with a career in Football at a higher level! Was he not the only player to be named as 2 different clubs player of the century for (IIRC for another 442 article)?

No, Clive Mendonca (Charlton and Grimsby) - it was a BBC series and book.

[Half Man Half Biscuit]

GK - Shaka Hislop
DL - Shorey (I forgive him for his final season)
DR - Gary Peters
DC - Martin Hicks
DC - Darius Wdowczyk
MR - Michael Gilkes
ML - Jobi McAnuff
MC - Simon Osborn
MC - Steve Sidwell
ST - Robin Friday
ST - Jimmy Quinn

Subs
Marcus
Stuart Lovell
Keith McPherson
Kevin Doyle
James Lambert
Archie Lovell
AND Lee Nogan for his opener at Wembley. (Lineker eat your heart out)