Anyone feeling positive? Anyone???

[Schards#2]

I'm looking forward to the new season. We have lost our captain, but our number one striker hasn't gone yet and is being talked about as a £10 million player. Nobody is mentioning Kebe leaving. Pearce will get more games next year, and we are usually better with him playing. Cummings will give Griffin a run for his money. HRK improved a lot last year. Manset looks like he had a good summer fitness-wise. There are lots of positives.

I can understand the spoilt bastard brigade complaining because Mr Madejski hasn't spent millions of his own money buying us superstar players and risking a future full of Jimmy Bullard situations commiting to long-term multi-million pound salaries. I could also understand my sister's tears when she wasn't bought ponies and shit for her birthday.

I doubt the stats would bear out that assertion.

[brendywendy]

for gods sake man Shhhhhhh.
snowball will hear

[urz13]

To be honest, I'm not the least bit concerned about Long going. Every year we've lost our biggest goalscorer; Doyle, Sigurdsson etc. And yet we've coped, and someone has always stepped up. So no concern there, we've got £5m to spend from Mills and still got Kebe, McAnuff and HRK. So yes, I'm feeling positive.

[winchester_royal]

To be honest, I'm not the least bit concerned about Long going. Every year we've lost our biggest goalscorer; Doyle, Sigurdsson etc. And yet we've coped, and someone has always stepped up. So no concern there, we've got £5m to spend from Mills and still got Kebe, McAnuff and HRK. So yes, I'm feeling positive.

Errrr, nope.

Anyway I'm feeling very confident going into this season. Looks like we're keeping Kebe, which IMO was the most important thing this summer, and I'm reasonably confident Manset, Taylor and Obita are going to step up this season.

A decent CB in on loan, and I see no reason why we can't challenge for the playoffs again.

[Franchise FC]

Even if Long stays, can he be relied upon to reach the heights of last season? We need another centre back and a proper challenger for Harte too. If all this happens, we can have a decent go again. Our midfield is looking very good so long as we keep Kebe.

Indeed, I am not so sure Long can do it for another season, if he got past 10 goals that would be great!

If that really is the case then we'd best take the money now.

[The Prisoner]

IN for positivity!

We were perceived as being slightly dump prior to the 106 season, so we can use that as an excuse every year from here to eternity during pre season!

yay.

[Snowball]

One thing, they look like they are fit and raring to go (excluding Mr Howard, of course)

Manset looks thinner and quicker and I have high hopes of him.

Was it my imagination or did Shane look trimmer too?

They looked like a strong, athletic team.


That feels positive.

[rhroyal]

Lots of people expecting Obita to step up. He's 17; you'd realistically expect it to take another couple of years for him to be ready, unless he is truly exceptional.

[chilipepper91]

Lots of people expecting Obita to step up. He's 17; you'd realistically expect it to take another couple of years for him to be ready, unless he is truly exceptional.

I wouldn't say expecting - if he does step up this year it's obviously an advantage. Brian took him on tour so he must consider him part of his plans for this year.

[urz13]

Lots of people expecting Obita to step up. He's 17; you'd realistically expect it to take another couple of years for him to be ready, unless he is truly exceptional.

I wouldn't say expecting - if he does step up this year it's obviously an advantage. Brian took him on tour so he must consider him part of his plans for this year.

As long as he plays better than Antonio I'm happy.

[Ian Royal]

I'm looking forward to the new season. We have lost our captain, but our number one striker hasn't gone yet and is being talked about as a £10 million player. Nobody is mentioning Kebe leaving. Pearce will get more games next year, and we are usually better with him playing. Cummings will give Griffin a run for his money. HRK improved a lot last year. Manset looks like he had a good summer fitness-wise. There are lots of positives.

I can understand the spoilt bastard brigade complaining because Mr Madejski hasn't spent millions of his own money buying us superstar players and risking a future full of Jimmy Bullard situations commiting to long-term multi-million pound salaries. I could also understand my sister's tears when she wasn't bought ponies and shit for her birthday.

I doubt the stats would bear out that assertion.

Depends which stat you use. Points per game yes, goals conceeded per game, no.

[Royal Rother]

Ian, I need to see 50 lines of analysis if I am going to accept that statement.

[Ian Royal]

Ian, I need to see 50 lines of analysis if I am going to accept that statement.

I make no comment at this time as to whether Handsome Man's statement is correct or not. But it is a fact that the two stats I mentioned (surely the most important for centrebacks) show different things.

Unfortunately in a complex game like football involving so many variables such a simplistic use of such limited stats proved nothing as they don't provide a truely qualitative repersentation of reality. Merely a pale and incomplete reflection of part of it.

It is however, a fact (barring data entry errors on my part). That in Pearce's 20 league games for us last season we achieved 1.38 points per game and conceeded 0.78 goals per game. In comparison for the figures for the other two centrebacks we mainly used were:
Mills (38) - 1.50 & 1.14
Khiz (21) - 1.74 & 1.07

I could bring something more subjective into it and talk about individual mistakes leading to goals conceeded per game as well, but that is far more down to my personal interpretation - and I'm willing to admit a certain extent of personal bias and mood at the time of recording. But for what it's worth, that would show this.

Pearce - 0.09
Mills - 0.51
Khiz - 0.45

My personal view is that Pearce is the most reliable, steady & organised of those three and is an excellent reader of the game, perhaps in the mold of Ingimarsson. Making him mentally by far the strongest. But I'd also say that physically he is significantly the weaker of the three.

When it comes to it in a centreback with circumstances like this I'll take mental strength as the winner though.

Sorry that'll have to do.

[SCIAG]

So Pearce's presence leads to us conceding less but winning less points. Think it's safe to say that playing Pearce next season will cripple our attack.

[KC Royal]

At one point I really thought we could challenge for automatic promotion. I didn't think we should fear anyone, and McD's comments after Wembley about being "stronger for this next season" fired me up for the coming season in the more positive moments.

Now, don't know whether its Mills leaving, pre-season, or reality kicking in, prob a combination of all 3, but a lot of that positivity has gone. If Long stays we've definitely got a chance of finishing in the Top 6, but I've now got the same defensive concerns i had around this time last year and consequently am thinking the same position, Top 8. But with so many teams looking like challenging for a Top 6 spot this season it'll be a greater achievement to make the playoffs this time than it was last season imo. Tbh the main positive for me is McDermott, i've got such faith in him.

Saying all that, i'll have a better idea in 2 weeks time and then again on 1st September.

[LoyalRoyal22]

2 words that make me positive..... Jordan Obita

[Ian Royal]

If our defence is Griffin, Cummings, Pearce, Khumalo, Sonko, Morrison, Harte by the end of next week I'll get even more postive. If we keep Long and sign a pacey left back, I'll be thinking we've got a decent shot at promotion.

[peterroyal76]

If our defence is Griffin, Cummings, Pearce, Khumalo, Sonko, Morrison, Harte by the end of next week I'll get even more postive. If we keep Long and sign a pacey left back, I'll be thinking we've got a decent shot at promotion.

Seven at the back? Sure we wouldn't concede too many, but what about going forward?

[Ian Royal]

If our defence is Griffin, Cummings, Pearce, Khumalo, Sonko, Morrison, Harte by the end of next week I'll get even more postive. If we keep Long and sign a pacey left back, I'll be thinking we've got a decent shot at promotion.

Seven at the back? Sure we wouldn't concede too many, but what about going forward?

McAnuff, Kebe and Long for the goals.

[zummerset]

You are forgetting the beast..Monsieur Manset