Best financial strategy for strengthening the team?

[Reading4eva]

The way we've approached this season IS sensible enough. The biggest issue here is that maybe we needed more work than we have got done pre-season. It means in Janurary IF we are still alive, its going to be a very expensive winter for Anton

[Alexander Litvinenko]

The key point to remember is that in January players won't join a team looking that's looking relegation probabilities, no matter how much money you might offer to throw at them.

Or at least most won't. Some will - but they're certainly not the type of players you'd want.

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

to be honest, i dont think were in trouble yet. all the teams we have played are probably going to be top mid table sides. we played well against all the teams except for tottenham. stoke we should have gotten more than a draw, chelsea we should have won, and west brom we didnt deserve the loss. lets get a few games under our belt from the teams we will be competing against for relegation/lower-mid table. if we are still drowning at this point we can panic. i do think we needed more strengthening in our squad, specifically another creative midfielder and/or striker. january might be to late because if we are in the relegation zone then no one will want to join us or we will have to pay ridiculous wages, as royal lady said. my feeling is that we need to make significant improvements in the summer that will likely keep us at a good point in january, reassess, then possibly make changes that will keep us up during the last transfer window. we still dont know how much we were given for the summer transfer window, who knows bm could have spent almost all of it, which i highly doubt but it is possible.

[chilipepper91]

You take a team of unknowns quantities (perhaps unexpectedly) up to the Prem, knowing that last time this happened they finished 8th

Difference being that last time we smashed the points record and looked unstoppable in every game, whereas I think most people will admit that last season we were bloody lucky to go up, let alone win the league. Was obvious we would need strengthening, massive gap in class when you're playing a defensive, counter-attacking system in the Champo and then try to translate that to the Prem.

luck my arse- we went up because we were better at winning games than west ham and saints over the season.
t'aint luck

agree it was massively different to the 05/06 team though

It was just one of those things though, like the momentum we built up in the 05/06 season, we would go into every game thinking we would win (after the arrival of Roberts). West Ham away, we could have been dead and buried at half-time but we held on and grabbed the lead just before the break. We were a good Championship team with a good team spirit and work ethic, which won us matches.

Last year was all about 10 men behind the ball, sitting in front of our area and letting the opposition have the ball and try to work through us. That won't work this year because the quality of Prem sides is so much higher that they will be able to find the gaps, as Spurs ruthlessly proved last week. Good full-backs will have McAnuff and McCleary in their pockets all day, which was our one outlet last term. Don't mean to doom-monger but there just doesn't seem to be enough star quality, no game-changers either starting or on the bench.

[melonhead]

feel free to peddle and mong your doom around as you please young man


things are looking quite doom laden so far

[Royal Bahamas]

feel free to peddle and mong your doom around as you please young man


things are looking quite doom laden so far

There have been sparks of 'YES!' in every game for Reading so far. What we are waiting for, is for the sparks to ignite a ROYAL FIRE! I do believe in RFC and in the TEAM. It is taking time for the newbies to fit into the Team, and for the team to accept the newbies. When our two 'lightening rods' come back into the TEAM, they will be just like 'new signings' for us, and we will be on our way. By that time the opposition will totally underestimate our abilities and we will start to rack up the W W W W W....... In Time and McD we trust.

[Victor Meldrew]

feel free to peddle and mong your doom around as you please young man


things are looking quite doom laden so far

There have been sparks of 'YES!' in every game for Reading so far. What we are waiting for, is for the sparks to ignite a ROYAL FIRE! I do believe in RFC and in the TEAM. It is taking time for the newbies to fit into the Team, and for the team to accept the newbies. When our two 'lightening rods' come back into the TEAM, they will be just like 'new signings' for us, and we will be on our way. By that time the opposition will totally underestimate our abilities and we will start to rack up the W W W W W....... In Time and McD we trust.

Not sure I agree that it has taken the newbies time to fit in,it's more that the oldies may not be good enough.

[bracksroyal10]

Well I think if AZ is talking about these plans to improve the facilities etc I think its only really worth doing if we are going to be a PL club for a very long time and not just over a couple of seasons. Whats the point in having state of the art facilities if we are going to end up in the Championship again the PL is where all the money is at.

I think its unfair to say how we will do this year yet but certainly I feel we need to be taking points off of teams like w.b.a if we are to stay up this year. If we are in a bad position by January no one will want to join us so it is important we are in a secure mid table position at least. It may be a case of the team still trying to gel and I think it is I certainly wouldn't say Guthrie is a attacking midfielder to say the least and I think Pog is still looking for a strike partner he can link up well with.

I think if we buy in January we will have to be very careful with the quantity of players as we will be trying to gel a team for 10 games or so if we make major changes to the team and that will be a very high level risk. I think we are in the same position as Leeds were when they came back to the Championship. A lot of their players were not of the quality for the championship despite winning promotion the previous year.

[BenReadingFC]

[RepressedRoyal]

Our 25 contains about 6 players who are either 'over the hill' or not good enough for the Prem. We should have 3 or 4 really good younger players who could be called into action if injuries hit the squad, but we don't. Our current buys would have made us a real Championship favourite but we aren't in the Champ! Rhodes, Whittingham, Zaha, and a couple of defenders were needed but we got it wrong - just like we did the second season the last time. Several U21 players should also have been brought into the fold. We looked at some good ones but, each time, the club asked for a sensible fee and we would'nt pay it, or, the player asked for a sensible deal and we wouldn't pay it.

It's about time that some people realised that, we are a BIG team - we are in the Prem. We are a wealthy team - we have a new multi-millionaire ownership! A lot is said of the Reading Way and, that means not making the same mistake again and again! We should always look for value in our signings but, as we stand, we will be relegated! IT IS WAY PAST THE TIME TO SPEND SOME MONEY It should have been done before the start of the season but it wasn't! The January window is our only hope but, the players we needed are mostly gone!

Sensible post of the week award goes to the Siege...£15-20 million needed spending on players such as those mentioned above, we have too many players who are honest, loyal and decent individuals but are just not going to be good enough. I am not qualified to say the reasons why more ambitious signings never took place, I guess only McDermott, Hammond and the Directors know the full story, but the fact is, on the evidence so far, we are a million miles away from being competitive.

[BenReadingFC]

OK so now what, Panic buy in the January window?

[Royal Bahamas]

Our 25 contains about 6 players who are either 'over the hill' or not good enough for the Prem. We should have 3 or 4 really good younger players who could be called into action if injuries hit the squad, but we don't. Our current buys would have made us a real Championship favourite but we aren't in the Champ! Rhodes, Whittingham, Zaha, and a couple of defenders were needed but we got it wrong - just like we did the second season the last time. Several U21 players should also have been brought into the fold. We looked at some good ones but, each time, the club asked for a sensible fee and we would'nt pay it, or, the player asked for a sensible deal and we wouldn't pay it.

It's about time that some people realised that, we are a BIG team - we are in the Prem. We are a wealthy team - we have a new multi-millionaire ownership! A lot is said of the Reading Way and, that means not making the same mistake again and again! We should always look for value in our signings but, as we stand, we will be relegated! IT IS WAY PAST THE TIME TO SPEND SOME MONEY It should have been done before the start of the season but it wasn't! The January window is our only hope but, the players we needed are mostly gone!

Sensible post of the week award goes to the Siege...£15-20 million needed spending on players such as those mentioned above, we have too many players who are honest, loyal and decent individuals but are just not going to be good enough. I am not qualified to say the reasons why more ambitious signings never took place, I guess only McDermott, Hammond and the Directors know the full story, but the fact is, on the evidence so far, we are a million miles away from being competitive.

I understand that The Seige has 'forever' been stating that we need to BUY! When we are losing he is also here to claim a stance of "see, I told you so. I have just been saying what you all now realsie we need to do."
That RepressedRoyal, in a moment of despondency, agrees with this mentality is only realistic, from a factual point of view.
My problem is that WE are all meant to be Reading FC FANS! We are supposed to support our team through thick and thin. To back every run, tackle, save, shot ,....and even that most desired GOAL!!!!!! Be there to encourage our players, and maybe, just maybe, be a PART OF THE TEAM!!!!!!!!
Yes, have your opinion, but don't forget that one reason you are on this site.
TO SUPPORT READING FOOTBALL CLUB, IT'S PLAYER'S AND MANAGEMENT........and of course each other.

Enjoy.

[Royal Bahamas]

Yeah right! TheSiege supports RFC through thick and thin - and has done so for longer than most people on this site. He is also highly knowledgable and highly logical! He wants RFC to win the Prem this season - but it won't happen! He hopes that we will not be relegated but, we have not done the deals to ensure that! This site is designed for fans to swap their thoughts and ideas. If you are just an 'ignore reality, just sit and hope' sort of person - OK, but reality is what happens when we are relegated through stupidity!!!!!

So tell me, which Premier League Club do you run? You have just made it very clear that as far as you are concerd Brian McD is stupid,.....along with all the rest of RFC Management. As for the players, they are the most incompetent persons, not eligible for Premier League play,....after just four games. If you are typical of a real RFC fan,......I am truly not living in reality....Well, not YOURS anyway.

[melonhead]

Our 25 contains about 6 players who are either 'over the hill' or not good enough for the Prem. We should have 3 or 4 really good younger players who could be called into action if injuries hit the squad, but we don't. Our current buys would have made us a real Championship favourite but we aren't in the Champ! Rhodes, Whittingham, Zaha, and a couple of defenders were needed but we got it wrong - just like we did the second season the last time. Several U21 players should also have been brought into the fold. We looked at some good ones but, each time, the club asked for a sensible fee and we would'nt pay it, or, the player asked for a sensible deal and we wouldn't pay it.

It's about time that some people realised that, we are a BIG team - we are in the Prem. We are a wealthy team - we have a new multi-millionaire ownership! A lot is said of the Reading Way and, that means not making the same mistake again and again! We should always look for value in our signings but, as we stand, we will be relegated! IT IS WAY PAST THE TIME TO SPEND SOME MONEY It should have been done before the start of the season but it wasn't! The January window is our only hope but, the players we needed are mostly gone!

Sensible post of the week award goes to the Siege...

LOL!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Everyone is assuming that there is lots of money available to spend, so let's remind ourselves of three indisputable facts (not opinions) :

The owner of this club does not have lots of money to spend - he is not super-rich by any stretch of the imagination.

The father of the owner of this club *is* super-rich.

We have no information at all on how much money the father of the owner will put in, if he will at all, on what terms it will be - or what his involvement with the club in any way will be.

[Reading4eva]

I think if we were in the Championship with this team, we would win it at a canter. However like so many good teams have found out before hand, theres a way of playing in the Championship (and we got that spot on), and a way of playing in the Premier League (which we need to adapt to fast). Look at Bolton for example whose gone down, they tried playing like a Premier League team, and got absolutely ripped apart at first by snappy little teams, the likes of Brighton, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Millwall who we seemed to have in our pocket last term. They've learnt how to play against those teams and are now moving forwards.

Likewise, we are playing like we did, sitting back as if Tottenham are that snappy little team, pushing and pulling you round the park... and there not.

[RFCSPACE]

Anything but option 3, it's desperate. We'd either be paying over the odds, or getting players which are being sold because they aren't cutting it at their current club. We should've spent more at the start and be looking to sell in January, not panic buy.

[HoneyRoastHoax]

Everyone is assuming that there is lots of money available to spend, so let's remind ourselves of three indisputable facts (not opinions) :

The owner of this club does not have lots of money to spend - he is not super-rich by any stretch of the imagination.

The father of the owner of this club *is* super-rich.

We have no information at all on how much money the father of the owner will put in, if he will at all, on what terms it will be - or what his involvement with the club in any way will be.

his father is one of the TSI group,

Its an unusual situation being as two of our best players Kebe and Roberts are out with injurys. Just because options and imagination seem limited at the moment its the best of a bad situation. Plays will be different when those two return.

[specialjon]

Anybody else see this http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/top-ten/120905/revealed-europes-biggest-spending-clubs-summer-transfer-window-180254 look who is at 7?!!??? Crazy stuff, if they don't stay up they could be in big trouble in the long term.

[Who Moved The Goalposts?]

Anybody else see this http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/top-ten/120905/revealed-europes-biggest-spending-clubs-summer-transfer-window-180254 look who is at 7?!!??? Crazy stuff, if they don't stay up they could be in big trouble in the long term.

It's utterly eye-watering. Completely detached from the real world. What staggers me is that the banks are letting them getting away with it.