The real big cock-ups

[FridaysGhost]

Whilst I understand the wishes of lesser Contributors to attack my posts, contrived misunderstanding of what I am saying is pathetic.

I believe that in business, as in football, one should buy cheap and sell expensive. With a supposedly good scouting system and finances, why should we ever have ended a Transfer period without the squad required to make us progress?

e.g. The same year we were relegated, Kerry Dixon scored a hatfull of goals and was then bought by Chelsea. Doyle was bought for £100,000 and sold, after relegation from the Premiership, for 6M. Which bit of 'spending on real potential' do people not understand?

I have watched both RFC and the Transfer Window over many years and our attachment to 'The Reading Way' has meant we have missed out on myriad players. Defoe could have been bought from Brighton. Both Englands current CB's (today) were available way back - as were Upson and Dawson relatively recently. Kondogbia could have been acquired before our Premiership entry last year, as could Zaha, Ince, Austin etc.

We are doing great at slowly establishing ourselves as a top Champ/low Premiership team. We are doing cr*p at buying potential quality and understanding the risks of buying players - when they really are no risk at all.

[Tamworth_Royal]

The real big cock-ups= Appointing a very poor reserve goalkeeper as DOF Jesus when will people understand that fact

[M Brook]

The real big cock-ups= Appointing a very poor reserve goalkeeper as DOF Jesus when will people understand that fact

Funny how NH was 'brilliant' when he sold Kits, Sonks, etc... for ridiculous sums. Now he's to blame just cos we didn't spend a fortune on a load of mercenaries in the window.

The fact that people need to understand is that there is no money and that is hardly NH's fault. We've all been conned, Sir John included. The Russian will use the parachute payment and last year's TV money to pay off SJM and we'll be back where we started. Only we'll be owned by someone with little or no interest in Reading rather than someone who was, still is, Reading through and through.

[SapperBRoyal]

The real big cock-ups= Appointing a very poor reserve goalkeeper as DOF Jesus when will people understand that fact

Funny how NH was 'brilliant' when he sold Kits, Sonks, etc... for ridiculous sums. Now he's to blame just cos we didn't spend a fortune on a load of mercenaries in the window.

The fact that people need to understand is that there is no money and that is hardly NH's fault. We've all been conned, Sir John included. The Russian will use the parachute payment and last year's TV money to pay off SJM and we'll be back where we started. Only we'll be owned by someone with little or no interest in Reading rather than someone who was, still is, Reading through and through.

+1. Would be keen to understand how you justify him to be a 'very poor' keeper, and if you don't like the transfer window activity, look no further than the owner.

[Ian Royal]

Whilst I understand the wishes of lesser Contributors to attack my posts, contrived misunderstanding of what I am saying is pathetic.

I believe that in business, as in football, one should buy cheap and sell expensive. With a supposedly good scouting system and finances, why should we ever have ended a Transfer period without the squad required to make us progress?

e.g. The same year we were relegated, Kerry Dixon scored a hatfull of goals and was then bought by Chelsea. Doyle was bought for £100,000 and sold, after relegation from the Premiership, for 6M. Which bit of 'spending on real potential' do people not understand?

I have watched both RFC and the Transfer Window over many years and our attachment to 'The Reading Way' has meant we have missed out on myriad players. Defoe could have been bought from Brighton. Both Englands current CB's (today) were available way back - as were Upson and Dawson relatively recently. Kondogbia could have been acquired before our Premiership entry last year, as could Zaha, Ince, Austin etc.

We are doing great at slowly establishing ourselves as a top Champ/low Premiership team. We are doing cr*p at buying potential quality and understanding the risks of buying players - when they really are no risk at all.

I'll just go back to laughing at your delusions if you don't mind.

[Millsy]

Since Anton took over, RFC have had the chance to buy some very good players. In virtually every case we would not pay what they were worth. Furthermore, anyone who keeps reminding the site of what we have missed gets wild abuse from the 'little Reading' forum.

This thread is for you to say who we should have spent our money on - and for the doombrains to actually tell us why not!

Rhodes could have been ours for 8M - does anyone think he is worth less now?
Whittingham would have been about 1.5M, Zaha, before the Man Utd interest was 6-8M, what is he worth now?
Kondogbia was 5M or less (I forget) and I could go on ad infinitum.

Player after player who we could have bought, who may have made a great difference to our Premiership season, and yet each is worth much more now than then.

WE COULD HAVE BOUGHT ALL OF THEM, BEEN RELEGATED AND STILL MADE A PROFIT ON THEM!

We could now try for Vaz Te - or are we too small a club to be ambitious?

Who should we have bought since the takeover and, to the lackwits (Ian Royal, Melonhead, Sandman etc.), why shouldn't we have bought them? Make a case!

Absolutely spot on that we should not have been afraid to spend, so overall the post is made on a good foundation.

But you're cherry picking successes there - what of failed big signings? And what of wages in the meantime?

Even Pog who we spent nothing on (and I said would be sh*t I add) is now costing us 100s of 1000s a month. What if we'd actually forked out millions on him?? We might not have then been able to afford Blackman. Oh.

[Icke]

Whilst I understand the wishes of lesser Contributors to attack my posts, contrived misunderstanding of what I am saying is pathetic.

I believe that in business, as in football, one should buy cheap and sell expensive. With a supposedly good scouting system and finances, why should we ever have ended a Transfer period without the squad required to make us progress?

e.g. The same year we were relegated, Kerry Dixon scored a hatfull of goals and was then bought by Chelsea. Doyle was bought for £100,000 and sold, after relegation from the Premiership, for 6M. Which bit of 'spending on real potential' do people not understand?

I have watched both RFC and the Transfer Window over many years and our attachment to 'The Reading Way' has meant we have missed out on myriad players. Defoe could have been bought from Brighton. Both Englands current CB's (today) were available way back - as were Upson and Dawson relatively recently. Kondogbia could have been acquired before our Premiership entry last year, as could Zaha, Ince, Austin etc.

We are doing great at slowly establishing ourselves as a top Champ/low Premiership team. We are doing cr*p at buying potential quality and understanding the risks of buying players - when they really are no risk at all.

I am understanding what you are saying, I am understanding you are a oxf*rd. When did Defoe play for Brighton? oxf*rd off back to your dreamworld.

[Royal Prince]

No idea why Friday's Ghost is moaning so much, the club have a far better than average record of doing exactly what he preaches in buying talent low and selling high, for example Doyle, Long, Sonko, S.Hunt, Kitson etc. Truth is hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I too wish we'd also bought Zaha, Cahill and Rhodes, but either we weren't interested in them at the time (price too high, position already covered in our squad etc), or surprise surprise maybe they weren't interested in joining us (offer too low, player wanted to go somewhere more attractive etc). There is so much more to signing a player than simply stumping up the cash, not least competition from others. It's all well and good moaning at our club for missing these players, but they didn't sign for Watford, Ipswich or Brighton either, there can only be one 'winner' and sometimes it isn't us, so get over it.

Whilst I'm here let me explain something for you, real life isn't like football manager. I could win the EuroMillions this week and donate £200m to the club to spend on whoever they'd like, but truth be told they may still trouble to attract talent to the club when there are so many other fantastic clubs to choose from who may be playing at a higher level or just be far more attractive to the player.

A football player is like a beautiful women, you could have spotted her in a bar first, you may even have the money to buy her a drink, but if the dude next to you has a bigger schlong she ain't gonna be getting in your taxi home!

[Brain Traysers]

Defoe could have been bought from Brighton.

Are you sure? What was he doing in Brighton?

[thirtyyarder]

if the dude next to you has a bigger schlong !

Hasn't happened to me yet

[Royal Prince]

if the dude next to you has a bigger schlong !

Hasn't happened to me yet

thirtyyarder by name, thirtyyarder by nature?!

[Elm Park Pasty]

I'm coming round to the conclusion that Friday's Ghost may, or may not, be The Siege (as some have claimed) but is possibly Julian Assange. The way any argument is challenged, and how everything is said with a definitive certainty of being correct, no matter how ludicrous the statement. See many games from the Ecuadorian embassy Jules?

[Focher]

like this a lot

[SCIAG]

Both Englands current CB's (today) were available way back - as were Upson and Dawson relatively recently.

Jagielka? Pfft. Would you have sold Sidwell to Sheffield United? And do you think he'd have chosen us ahead of Everton anyway?

Cahill, Lescott, yes, we could maybe have had them, though again I question whether Lescott would have chosen us ahead of Everton.

Upson and Dawson were not and are not "real potential" when they were available. Both have been on the way down for several years, Dawson has had a string of injuries that have stopped him becoming the player he could have been. Now don't get me wrong, they'd be better options than Gorkss, but if we had them in our senior side they'd be blocking out a great prospect in Morrison.

In the Championship, you don't make large sums of money by signing players for millions. You make money by signing players cheaply, selling them on for millions to a Premier League team, who then sell them on for £10-20m. In the examples you give above, we would not be Everton or Bolton, we'd be Sheffield United or Wolves or Blackpool or Crystal Palace. This model has served us extremely well to date, only Southampton and maybe Palace are better at it (we have more success stories, their success stories are more impressive).

[Rfc1987]

I love how the squad is starting to come together and start to look a force in this league that the moaning on this thread has stopped.

[maffff]

Kondogbia rejected the chance to come for a medical. Sevilla and us had both agreed fees for him. Can't blame us for that, I'd rather be in Sevilla, they're also a slight better team with less chance of disappearing into obscurity any time soon.

[Tommio]

Kondogbia rejected the chance to come for a medical. Sevilla and us had both agreed fees for him. Can't blame us for that, I'd rather be in Sevilla, they're also a slight better team with less chance of disappearing into obscurity any time soon.

He onviously didn't want to stay at Sevilla though, he's at Monaco now.

[Elm Park Pasty]

Kondogbia rejected the chance to come for a medical. Sevilla and us had both agreed fees for him. Can't blame us for that, I'd rather be in Sevilla, they're also a slight better team with less chance of disappearing into obscurity any time soon.

He onviously didn't want to stay at Sevilla though, he's at Monaco now.

I think you are being a bit unfair there, Tommio, Monaco spend the summer chucking money around like confetti so who wouldn't go there if offered the chance?

[melonhead]

im not as keen on it as a city tbf

many other nicer, less heavily developed and crowded prettier towns on thesouth coast
that are all much less full of oxf*rd

[Elm Park Pasty]

im not as keen on it as a city tbf

many other nicer, less heavily developed and crowded prettier towns on thesouth coast
that are all much less full of oxf*rd

Never been. Always fancied taking the better half to see the Grand Prix so we'll see how we get on with Silverstone next year. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the footballers live across the border in France. Not sure how that works out with the tax arrangements though.