RUMOUR - Iago Aspas

[Crotts]

If Aspas has an £8.3m buyout clause in his contract and McDermott says he is too expensive why did we waste so much time watching him ?

I can afford a second hand Ford Focus but I'm off down the Ferrari showroom again to have a look at all the cars I can't afford !!!

[M U R T Y]

just because he has a 8.3million clause doesn't mean Celta wouldn't accept a lower offer

[Millsy]

Sour grapes mode

He looks pretty lightweight. Not sure he'd cut it in the prem.

[maffff]

Can't see it happening but I take anything McDermott or the club says publicly for gospel though. We aren't signing ALF, Salako....

[royalZILLAAA]

Sour grapes mode

He looks pretty lightweight. Not sure he'd cut it in the prem.

Who wants a player called 'I Got Ass Spaz' anyway.

[melonhead]

i have got ass spaz, so i wanted him to come here to raise the profile of the disorder

[akranes]

i have got ass spaz, so i wanted him to come here to raise the profile of the disporder

A horrible disorder, my brothers uncles great grand nephews anus died from this.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Whatever your position is on whether we should spend, I think all would agree that being a Reading fan in the transfer window is a pretty deflating experience.

Why?

Reading have made two signings in this window so far, many more could come. The fans wanted more arrivals and we got them. It's not liked we haven't bought anyone in, that would be pretty alarming, but we have gone out and brought in new players.

[royalZILLAAA]

i have got ass spaz, so i wanted him to come here to raise the profile of the disorder

My sincerest apologies, I never thought about it from the perspective of a sufferer.

[urz13]

I was convinced at the start of the season that if we were 3 points off survival when January came around all we would need to do is sign well and we'd stand a good chance of staying up. Carrico shoul be decent, Kelly is an average signing and Akpan is a classic Reading signing. Absolutely nothing to suggest we'll improve further in the second half of the season. Where has the £60m from promotion gone?! Surely there must be at least £10m left. It's so frustrating, the transfer window opens and excitement about potential signings is everywhere and then we soon realise that it's just going to be a load of the usual shit. We need to spend one day.

The only saving grace is that McDermott was talking about January in the article - perhaps a potential move in the summer, especially of Celta Vigo go down and we stay up?

[Royal Tezza]

Whatever your position is on whether we should spend, I think all would agree that being a Reading fan in the transfer window is a pretty deflating experience.

Why?

Reading have made two signings in this window so far, many more could come. The fans wanted more arrivals and we got them. It's not liked we haven't bought anyone in, that would be pretty alarming, but we have gone out and brought in new players.

I'm pleased with the players we've brought in don't get me wrong. It just always seems like that one player that would capture the fan's imagination is out of our reach, despite being consistently linked with numerous players I would put in this category.

Perhaps you're better at managing your expectations than me. It's the hope that kills you after all...

[melonhead]

I was convinced at the start of the season that if we were 3 points off survival when January came around all we would need to do is sign well and we'd stand a good chance of staying up. Carrico shoul be decent, Kelly is an average signing and Akpan is a classic Reading signing. Absolutely nothing to suggest we'll improve further in the second half of the season. Where has the £60m from promotion gone?! Surely there must be at least £10m left. It's so frustrating, the transfer window opens and excitement about potential signings is everywhere and then we soon realise that it's just going to be a load of the usual shit. We need to spend one day.

The only saving grace is that McDermott was talking about January in the article - perhaps a potential move in the summer, especially of Celta Vigo go down and we stay up?

money usually quoted for promotion includes parachute payments
wage bill will have doubled.
weve probably spent 10 million in transfer fees and signing on fees

[akranes]

I was convinced at the start of the season that if we were 3 points off survival when January came around all we would need to do is sign well and we'd stand a good chance of staying up. Carrico shoul be decent, Kelly is an average signing and Akpan is a classic Reading signing. Absolutely nothing to suggest we'll improve further in the second half of the season. Where has the £60m from promotion gone?! Surely there must be at least £10m left. It's so frustrating, the transfer window opens and excitement about potential signings is everywhere and then we soon realise that it's just going to be a load of the usual shit. We need to spend one day.

The only saving grace is that McDermott was talking about January in the article - perhaps a potential move in the summer, especially of Celta Vigo go down and we stay up?

money usually quoted for promotion includes parachute payments
wage bill will have doubled.
weve probably spent 10 million in transfer fees and signing on fees

i see you

[royal madrid]

For some reason I only just noticed this.

I saw this kid play a few months ago and thought he was fantastic. My team - Rayo Vallecano, since you ask - won that day but as a lone striker he ran the socks off of our defence, was controlled with his aggression, has an eye for goal and bagged two in twelve minutes.

Not sure if 8 million is realistic for somebody his age but if he helped keep us up he wouldn't be around for long...

[Ian Royal]

On the assumption we have £8.3m to spend I'd rather it went towards a CAM!

I hate this 'we need an attacking midfielder so badly' argument.

If you watch the way Reading play, they like to get it out wide very quickly, they like to work the wings. An attacking midfielder doesn't suit our style of play.

In recent weeks, Reading have improved because they have gone more defensive in midfield, and have let the wingers and strikers take the brunt of the attacking responsibilities. Guthrie is effectively our attacking midfielder if we ever needed one.

The point is we need one to give us more versatility because being reliant on wing play makes us predictable and easily countered.

[urz13]

I was convinced at the start of the season that if we were 3 points off survival when January came around all we would need to do is sign well and we'd stand a good chance of staying up. Carrico shoul be decent, Kelly is an average signing and Akpan is a classic Reading signing. Absolutely nothing to suggest we'll improve further in the second half of the season. Where has the £60m from promotion gone?! Surely there must be at least £10m left. It's so frustrating, the transfer window opens and excitement about potential signings is everywhere and then we soon realise that it's just going to be a load of the usual shit. We need to spend one day.

The only saving grace is that McDermott was talking about January in the article - perhaps a potential move in the summer, especially of Celta Vigo go down and we stay up?

money usually quoted for promotion includes parachute payments
wage bill will have doubled.
weve probably spent 10 million in transfer fees and signing on fees

I tried to account for that as its usually described as '£90m' incl. parachute payments.... Just feel a bit disheartened about transfers in general.

[ManchesterRoyals]

I tried to account for that as its usually described as '£90m' incl. parachute payments.... Just feel a bit disheartened about transfers in general.

Me too, Guess its the Reading way do everything on the cheap

[Millsy]

Same old reading

Always scrounging

£8.3mill isnt exactly gonna break the bank FFS when were 3 points from safety

I won't let myself go negative tho... I'm with the club ethos, I'm with the club ethos, I'm with the club ethos...

In Anton we trust in Anton we trust in Anton we trust

[Yellowcoat]

If you look at the figures for last season only the top two clubs took over 60 million from the Premier League for finishing position, TV money etc. (excluding ticket sales and other income) so perhaps too many people rashly over estimate the income to be gained from promotion.

[Royal Ginger]

On the assumption we have £8.3m to spend I'd rather it went towards a CAM!

I hate this 'we need an attacking midfielder so badly' argument.

If you watch the way Reading play, they like to get it out wide very quickly, they like to work the wings. An attacking midfielder doesn't suit our style of play.

In recent weeks, Reading have improved because they have gone more defensive in midfield, and have let the wingers and strikers take the brunt of the attacking responsibilities. Guthrie is effectively our attacking midfielder if we ever needed one.

The point is we need one to give us more versatility because being reliant on wing play makes us predictable and easily countered.

Agreed with this. On the very rare occasion we attacked WBA down the middle they looked surprised (before we f*cked it up). Just need to buy a plan B in January.