TSI - The Promises, Policies & Progress Thread

[melonhead]

In response to Vision suggesting that the season is not over yet.
Do you honestly believe that?
I would love to believe that there will be enlightenment (starting tomorrow) and that Brian starts playing Guthrie and we now and again keep possession for more than seconds.
I believe January will be too late to rectify things and let's not forget that other clubs will also be shopping at the January Sales and not just us.
We waited so long for that first season at the top level only to see us toss it all away again so quickly.
I like watching top players and accept that we cannot compete financially with about 7 or 8 sides but should be able to compete on the pitch with the rest but so far we haven't and I question the "hungry players" that has been said of our lot especially when the club captain comes out with claptrap about team spirit being disrupted by new signings in January.
What team spirit?
Too comfortable by half for many of them-I think we need a bit of disruption and a less cosy relationship between Brian and his old favourites.

of ocurse it isnt over yet, especially not with january coming, even if we dont spend as much as you want.
with the draws weve had its not a big leap to expect a few more wins with a couple of extra players

you forget that every season for the last three years people have been saying we had no chance at this stage of the season.....


and when you sport off about favourites, which players would they be exactly?
gorkss? no, cant be been dropped
cummings? no cant be been dropped
fed? no cant be, been dropped
pearce? no cant be, been dropped
karacan? no, cant be been dropped
tabb? no cant be been dropped
church? no, cant be been dropped, hasnt played, been loaned out
ALF?No cant be, been dropped
Kebe? No, cant be been dropped



youre left with Mcanuff- the 5th best assister in the league, our most consistent performer(when played on the correct side, and our captain)
legertwood who is alongside the shortest misfield in the world, and is being lept in due to his height, strength, and experience
and roberts since hes come back, who has been easily our most consistent and effective striker for the team as a whole.


as a pattern, it doesnt look too convincing to me

[Victor Meldrew]

In response to Vision suggesting that the season is not over yet.
Do you honestly believe that?
I would love to believe that there will be enlightenment (starting tomorrow) and that Brian starts playing Guthrie and we now and again keep possession for more than seconds.
I believe January will be too late to rectify things and let's not forget that other clubs will also be shopping at the January Sales and not just us.
We waited so long for that first season at the top level only to see us toss it all away again so quickly.
I like watching top players and accept that we cannot compete financially with about 7 or 8 sides but should be able to compete on the pitch with the rest but so far we haven't and I question the "hungry players" that has been said of our lot especially when the club captain comes out with claptrap about team spirit being disrupted by new signings in January.
What team spirit?
Too comfortable by half for many of them-I think we need a bit of disruption and a less cosy relationship between Brian and his old favourites.

of ocurse it isnt over yet, especially not with january coming, even if we dont spend as much as you want.
with the draws weve had its not a big leap to expect a few more wins with a couple of extra players

you forget that every season for the last three years people have been saying we had no chance at this stage of the season.....


and when you sport off about favourites, which players would they be exactly?
gorkss? no, cant be been dropped
cummings? no cant be been dropped
fed? no cant be, been dropped
pearce? no cant be, been dropped
karacan? no, cant be been dropped
tabb? no cant be been dropped
church? no, cant be been dropped, hasnt played, been loaned out
ALF?No cant be, been dropped
Kebe? No, cant be been dropped



youre left with Mcanuff- the 5th best assister in the league, our most consistent performer(when played on the correct side, and our captain)
legertwood who is alongside the shortest misfield in the world, and is being lept in due to his height, strength, and experience
and roberts since hes come back, who has been easily our most consistent and effective striker for the team as a whole.


as a pattern, it doesnt look too convincing to me

Melon,
Are you a spin doctor by trade?
Yes,all our players are wonderful.jobi is better than Ronaldo and the league table is printed upside down.

[melonhead]

Surely, everybody knows that there is an element of hit and miss with transfers.
Clubs a lot bigger and richer than us have made many a costly mistake.

bebe - 7.4 Million
Taibi - 4.5 Million
djemba djemba - 3.5 million
david bellion - 3 million
jordi cruyff -1.4 million
DONG FANGZHUO- 3.5 million
juan sebastian veron 28.1 million( although they made alot of that back when selling him quickly to cheLOLsea)
Kleberson - 6.5 million
forlan 6.9 million
blanc,
de gea
owen etc etc etc

[melonhead]

In response to Vision suggesting that the season is not over yet.
Do you honestly believe that?
I would love to believe that there will be enlightenment (starting tomorrow) and that Brian starts playing Guthrie and we now and again keep possession for more than seconds.
I believe January will be too late to rectify things and let's not forget that other clubs will also be shopping at the January Sales and not just us.
We waited so long for that first season at the top level only to see us toss it all away again so quickly.
I like watching top players and accept that we cannot compete financially with about 7 or 8 sides but should be able to compete on the pitch with the rest but so far we haven't and I question the "hungry players" that has been said of our lot especially when the club captain comes out with claptrap about team spirit being disrupted by new signings in January.
What team spirit?
Too comfortable by half for many of them-I think we need a bit of disruption and a less cosy relationship between Brian and his old favourites.

of ocurse it isnt over yet, especially not with january coming, even if we dont spend as much as you want.
with the draws weve had its not a big leap to expect a few more wins with a couple of extra players

you forget that every season for the last three years people have been saying we had no chance at this stage of the season.....


and when you sport off about favourites, which players would they be exactly?
gorkss? no, cant be been dropped
cummings? no cant be been dropped
fed? no cant be, been dropped
pearce? no cant be, been dropped
karacan? no, cant be been dropped
tabb? no cant be been dropped
church? no, cant be been dropped, hasnt played, been loaned out
ALF?No cant be, been dropped
Kebe? No, cant be been dropped



youre left with Mcanuff- the 5th best assister in the league, our most consistent performer(when played on the correct side, and our captain)
legertwood who is alongside the shortest misfield in the world, and is being lept in due to his height, strength, and experience
and roberts since hes come back, who has been easily our most consistent and effective striker for the team as a whole.


as a pattern, it doesnt look too convincing to me

Melon,
Are you a spin doctor by trade?
Yes,all our players are wonderful.jobi is better than Ronaldo and the league table is printed upside down.

didnt say anything of the sort

you made the stupid, erroneous and spurious comment about mcdermotts favourites, a
nd i simply pointed out that its a list of three
only one of which i think needs dropping, and he only hasnt been cos our other two midfielders have been injured.

[REMTARDROYAL]

Because it sure ain't going to be the PL with the "Reading Way"

In the last ten seasons, not including this one, we've spent 2 seasons in the Premiership, 2 of them getting promoted and three of them reaching the playoffs of the Championship.

We're doing something right.

[glenroyal]

Blimey. A sensible thread, I'd almost given up.

I agree with the general thrust - it's about realistic expectations. I've no doubt we will spend in January on whatever Brian and the rest consider worthwhile, but it's not going to be silly money is it.

[RoyalBlue]

Surely, everybody knows that there is an element of hit and miss with transfers.
Clubs a lot bigger and richer than us have made many a costly mistake.

It's a bit like the old saying "No one remembers when I get it right; no one forgets when I get it wrong"
What really cracks me up,though, are those who use the impact the new boys have made as a weapon to beat the club up with.

"They didn't spend enough"
"The tactics are all wrong"
"McDermott's an idiot"
"Zingarevich is not going to deliver"

Had Guthrie, Pogrebnyak and co been producing, I wonder how many of these type of threads we'd be reading?

But that is the very point. And whose fault is it that those new signings haven't worked?

Is it because they weren't good enough? Is it because they don't suit the style of play the manager favours? Or is it because the manager won't even play them?

All roads lead back to one starting point.

[Victor Meldrew]

Surely, everybody knows that there is an element of hit and miss with transfers.
Clubs a lot bigger and richer than us have made many a costly mistake.

It's a bit like the old saying "No one remembers when I get it right; no one forgets when I get it wrong"
What really cracks me up,though, are those who use the impact the new boys have made as a weapon to beat the club up with.

"They didn't spend enough"
"The tactics are all wrong"
"McDermott's an idiot"
"Zingarevich is not going to deliver"

Had Guthrie, Pogrebnyak and co been producing, I wonder how many of these type of threads we'd be reading?

Maybe winning one game before December and watching dire Wimbledon-style football has something to do with why these sorts of posts are being made.

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

i seriously dont know why you all are moaning. the plan has always been "work our way up buying value players and building a solid premiership team and shoot for the top half of the table in 5 years"

[SPARTA]

It's selective hearing. Fans heard the takeover, and chose not to hear that the club would be ran in the same way. We got exactly what was promised.

Top six finish?

Is the aim within 5 years... but don't let that stop you from creating a failure that doesn't exist at the current time; and with respect, it's called having ambition.

[paultheroyal]

Have it on good authority that a number of businesses owned by Sir John Madjeski have entered into administration. Hold onto your hats time.

What good authority is that?

Did you say something?

[paultheroyal]

Have it on good authority that a number of businesses owned by Sir John Madjeski have entered into administration. Hold onto your hats time.

What good authority is that?

I doubt anyone on here knows what these little businesses are. It was in the papers a year or so ago that he was struggling. Some printing company was flagging, and Sackville's £400m development of Station Hill was binned, and as mentioned he sold his majority share. I don't see what any of this has to do with us.

TSI = All talk and no bollocks.

How so? Money is being spent all over the club. We spent a decent amount in the summer and there was more to use but the gaffer decided not to part with it. So because we didn't spend £20m it's not enough for you? I bet you're one of these idiot fans that wanted to see a £10m signing, like Southampton, and then you'd have felt we were being ambitious...

You sure about your first paragraph. Numpty.

[SpaceCruiser]

You're the numpty. In case you had forgot, he's sold the club. I don't know why we should be worried about how his other businesses are doing.

[SPARTA]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 72558.html

That is probably the most surprising thing about McDermott's Reading. The manager makes the club sound like an autonomous commune, but this is a multimillion pound business, one that is now owned by Anton Zingarevich, the son of Russian pulp and paper billionaire Boris Zingarevich. Sir John Madejski is still chairman and McDermott insists that, even with the new foreign money, the ethos is the same as ever.

"It hasn't changed! [Zingarevich] is very much into the team, the group. That is probably one of the reasons he wanted to buy the club in the first place.

"He is not going to throw millions of pounds at it, that is obvious. He is not going to do that. He loves the team ethos, he loves the group ethos very much, he is very much part of it."

Zingarevich is certainly very much involved, and McDermott refuses to be territorial about his input. "I have conversations about the owner, and I've heard he was talking to players," said the manager. "Good! Let him talk to players. He is the owner, he is entitled to do that. It is not a problem. I never get defensive about things like that. I am very, very comfortable in that situation."

Zingarevich has "regular contact" with the director of football. "He speaks to Nick Hammond a lot more than I do," McDermott admitted. "I just concentrate on the team.

"He talks to Nick about players, not just from Russia, from all sorts of different countries – France, Germany, anywhere. He's got football input. He loves it.

"He came on pre-season with us in Portugal. He came into the dressing room after we got beat 7-5 [by Arsenal in the Capital One Cup] and he was devastated for the players. He said a few words, which was really good. It just tells you about him."

How better to set an example than that: the successful knitting of a wealthy Russian owner into the harmonious fabric of a football club?

[Royal Rother]

Have it on good authority that a number of businesses owned by Sir John Madjeski have entered into administration. Hold onto your hats time.

What good authority is that?

Did you say something?

Looks like I asked you a very difficult question.

You might need to check back but I believe I then made some vague reference to the vacuousness of the "hold onto your hats" comment.

[Vision]

Because it sure ain't going to be the PL with the "Reading Way"

In the last ten seasons, not including this one, we've spent 2 seasons in the Premiership, 2 of them getting promoted and three of them reaching the playoffs of the Championship.

We're doing something right.

Since our last promotion into the 2nd tier, off the top of my head I can only think of 1 definitely and possibly 1 other where we've not gone into the last game of the regular season without a chanc of playing top level football the following season. Even our worst season's were Championship top ten. Too right we've been doing something right.

The question is I guess, are TSI capable of going (or have the will/desire to go) a step further on a consistent basis without changing to some degree the way we've done things over the last decade?

[under the tin]

The question is I guess, are TSI capable of going (or have the will/desire to go) a step further on a consistent basis without changing to some degree the way we've done things over the last decade?

The evidence (Pogrebnyak) would suggest that that change is already happening.
I just can't for the life of me see a pre - TSI Madejski sanctioning wages of that order.(and I mean in principle, not in his ability to afford them)
I also think that the reason why JM always fretted about keeping the wage bill under control was because he could foresee that once the wage "dam" was broken, then it could end up growing exponentially. His experience back in 2006-8 had the club almost constantly upping the ante in player wages iin order to hold on to key staff. Recent events (Pearce) suggest a danger of history repeating itself.

The words that came from TSI, and Brian, when the takeover was announced were that the new money would obviate the continual need to sell our best players in order to balance the books.
OK,so we don't have to sell a Pearce to survive any more, but the fact remains that it will cost a whole lot of money in order to retain his services, and all the other players that we value. I think this is TSI's investment.

[Gordons Cumming]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/brian-mcdermott-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-8372558.html

That is probably the most surprising thing about McDermott's Reading. The manager makes the club sound like an autonomous commune, but this is a multimillion pound business, one that is now owned by Anton Zingarevich, the son of Russian pulp and paper billionaire Boris Zingarevich. Sir John Madejski is still chairman and McDermott insists that, even with the new foreign money, the ethos is the same as ever.

"It hasn't changed! [Zingarevich] is very much into the team, the group. That is probably one of the reasons he wanted to buy the club in the first place.

"He is not going to throw millions of pounds at it, that is obvious. He is not going to do that. He loves the team ethos, he loves the group ethos very much, he is very much part of it."

Zingarevich is certainly very much involved, and McDermott refuses to be territorial about his input. "I have conversations about the owner, and I've heard he was talking to players," said the manager. "Good! Let him talk to players. He is the owner, he is entitled to do that. It is not a problem. I never get defensive about things like that. I am very, very comfortable in that situation."

Zingarevich has "regular contact" with the director of football. "He speaks to Nick Hammond a lot more than I do," McDermott admitted. "I just concentrate on the team.

"He talks to Nick about players, not just from Russia, from all sorts of different countries – France, Germany, anywhere. He's got football input. He loves it.

"He came on pre-season with us in Portugal. He came into the dressing room after we got beat 7-5 [by Arsenal in the Capital One Cup] and he was devastated for the players. He said a few words, which was really good. It just tells you about him."

How better to set an example than that: the successful knitting of a wealthy Russian owner into the harmonious fabric of a football club?

Personally I think Anton is too close to Brian and will find it even more difficult when it comes to the task of eventually firing him.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

The question is I guess, are TSI capable of going (or have the will/desire to go) a step further on a consistent basis without changing to some degree the way we've done things over the last decade?

The evidence (Pogrebnyak) would suggest that that change is already happening.
I just can't for the life of me see a pre - TSI Madejski sanctioning wages of that order.(and I mean in principle, not in his ability to afford them)
I also think that the reason why JM always fretted about keeping the wage bill under control was because he could foresee that once the wage "dam" was broken, then it could end up growing exponentially. His experience back in 2006-8 had the club almost constantly upping the ante in player wages iin order to hold on to key staff. Recent events (Pearce) suggest a danger of history repeating itself.

The words that came from TSI, and Brian, when the takeover was announced were that the new money would obviate the continual need to sell our best players in order to balance the books.
OK,so we don't have to sell a Pearce to survive any more, but the fact remains that it will cost a whole lot of money in order to retain his services, and all the other players that we value. I think this is TSI's investment.

That doesn't get around the great, big glaring paradox of the whole thing.

Everyone was reassured that the club's finances would be run in the good, old, prudent way they always had been. In the same speech, it was also stated that the club would no longer have to sell their best young players any more.

The latter can only be true if we're planning to pay whatever it takes to keep a player at the club, so that makes the two statements directly contradictory - you can't be "prudent" while also not being prepared to match wages offered elsewhere. It looks like the former statement is the one that the club is going with, but it looks like it'll mean the loss of Alex Pearce in January, who is by anyone's standards clearly one of the club's best young players.

[cmonurz]

i seriously dont know why you all are moaning. the plan has always been "work our way up buying value players and building a solid premiership team and shoot for the top half of the table in 5 years"

That's going to be a bit bloody difficult if we're in the wrong division, isn't it.