Blessing in Disguise

[Maguire]

Missing out the Premier League and all it entails financially is bad news for a club in the situation Reading are in.

Need to find a new owner ASAP as the next few seasons will hinge on that.

Not too fussed about losing most of our existing players as they're basicallly shit.

Short-term, failing to get in the play-offs is a damning indictment of the performance of both the playing and management staff this season.

[winchester_royal]

Not sure it's a 'blessing in disguise', the financial realities will certainly hit this summer as a result, but there are positives to come out of today.

Taylor's cameo should have hopefully shown Adkins that he is better off putting his faith in local youth, rather than the overpaid and underperforming prima donnas we've added to the squad over the past few years. Obviously we need an experienced core in which to supplement with our academy guys, but there are a number of players in that first team squad that I will be DELIGHTED to see leave this summer.

Hopefully we'll get the ownership situation sorted and be able to add some quality this summer, but even if we don't I'm looking forward to seeing a more motivated, energetic team next season.

If we don't make changes, and the line-up for the first game of next season is even remotely similar to what we've seen over the past few weeks, then my enthusiasm for the club will be severely tested.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

The one good thing from all this is that we know we may see a completely different line up come August & the fans expectations will be somewhat lowered because of £ constraints.

I want to see Nige do some wheeling & dealing.

[Big Ern]

A blessing in disguise???? This could end up as a disaster for the club as we are now under big pressure to get big earners off the wage bill. The likes of McCarthy and Jobi have played their last games for the club, and quite possibly Ledge as we will not offer new contracts to these players until we shift the likes of Pog and Guthrie. Expect lots of departures and minimal arrivals. I fear next season is going to be a struggle against relegation.

Those pinning their hopes to the academy youngsters are living in a fools paradise. Some promising players but not up to the level yet, however I fear we will have to use them to plug the gaping holes that will be in our squad.

The sooner Madejski and Anton are out the picture,the better IMO

[Avon Royal]

Burnley were fourth favourites to be relegated at the beginning of the season, look how that turned out.

Some of you drama queens need to get a grip, the overreaction is as embarrassing as the pitch invasion.

[melonhead]

How the hell is it for the best? We'll lose the majority of our best players, most likely lose Category 1 Academy Status, and rely on free transfers and academy players who will have their confidence shot as we lose repeatedly next season

They can't do any worse then this Team has done in the last e Seasons

Erm...

[Big Ern]

Burnley were fourth favourites to be relegated at the beginning of the season, look how that turned out.

Some of you drama queens need to get a grip, the overreaction is as embarrassing as the pitch invasion.

Surely the upcoming fire sale and little to no money to sign players will most likely have a negative effect. Never say never, but at present with the club in 'limbo' in terms of ownership, I don't think it is being a drama queen to have a pessimistic view on our prospects for next season.

[melonhead]

I'm pessimistic
But looking forward to next season quite alit

[AthleticoSpizz]

I fear next season is going to be a struggle against relegation.

Yet another season devoid of mid-table mediocrity...love it

[the taphouse]

Time will prove it is a blessing.....the league table never lies and the fact we finished 7th is testimony to the woeful standard in the Championship. Once the club is sold and the crap on high is sorted out we can in the proverbial words move on and up. We've got a competitive league to look forward to next season and a competition we can compete in unlike the Premiershite which may as we'll be on Mars it's that far away from where we are .

To true

[Schards#2]

Burnley were fourth favourites to be relegated at the beginning of the season, look how that turned out.

Some of you drama queens need to get a grip, the overreaction is as embarrassing as the pitch invasion.

With £38m of debt, I reckon the club is pretty much worthless. As such, I don't see us getting shot of Zingaravitch any time soon. Which is why not getting promoted is a disaster.

Without a new owner, we are likely to follow Birmingham's template, and as the club is now nigh on worthless, I can't see a change of owner.

[the taphouse]

Burnley were fourth favourites to be relegated at the beginning of the season, look how that turned out.

Some of you drama queens need to get a grip, the overreaction is as embarrassing as the pitch invasion.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Just LOL at any div that thought they didn't want us to go up. Missing out is a disaster for a club in such a ropey position.

The only blessing in disguise is avoiding the team board for the extra couple of weeks

[Man Friday]

Good words from NA over on the OS. Very encouraging.

[Royal Rother]

£5m McCarthy
£3m Obita
£2m McCleary
£1m Pog
£1m Guthrie
£2m Gunter
£2m Williams
£1m Le Fondre
£1m Morrison
£1m Pearce
£500k Robson Kanu
£500k Kelly
£0 Bridge, Blackman, Gorkss

Could see most of these going, thoughts on values? Mine above total £20m.

Unfortunately I could see us having to pay Drenthe off to get him off the books.

Pog has done enough to have a value I'd have thought, but a low one would enable him to get another signing on fee and us to get him off the payroll.

The only one I'd be really hoping to keep is Obita - having a contract to 2017 I'd have thought there's a chance we could keep him with assurances he'd be playing in his preferred position.

Hugely reduced wages, more parachutes to come - we could be solvent in a couple of years! Yes, yes, yes, the doom boys will say "and in League 2..."

[Hoop Blah]

Burnley were fourth favourites to be relegated at the beginning of the season, look how that turned out.

Some of you drama queens need to get a grip, the overreaction is as embarrassing as the pitch invasion.

With £38m of debt, I reckon the club is pretty much worthless. As such, I don't see us getting shot of Zingaravitch any time soon. Which is why not getting promoted is a disaster.

Without a new owner, we are likely to follow Birmingham's template, and as the club is now nigh on worthless, I can't see a change of owner.

Disagree with that. We're in a bad place if we can't find a new owner to stabilise things but the majority of that debt is, I think, still owed to the joint owners and we've got a remaining £30-odd million due in parachute payments and a £12-15m turnover business at this level.

We will, like any club at this level who gambles with high wages, have to lose a significant chunk of the existing playing staff to trim the wage bill to sustainable levels. That shouldn't be too hard with the number of players out of contract, although it's a shame Drenthe and Pogrebnyak aren't two of those as they're undoubtedly two of the highest earners but aren't having a proportional effect on the team.

Staying down doesn't make us a bad purchase, it's just perhaps one for a different kind of buyer.

[bcubed]

Personally I think today proved we had enough to be top 6. The players need to take a long hard look at themselves today. Too many of them went missing for games we should have won.

I agree and that makes it all the more disappointing. We more than matched the second placed team and just showed what might have been.

And no matter how I look at it I can't see a blessing in disguise, I just see a huge opportunity lost

[genome]

I'd agree too. Frustr8ing considering how gee'd up the players were for the last 3 games of the season (1st half Doncaster aside), if they had done that for just an extra 20 minutes in one match over all of the the home games this season, we could've turned one of those 10 draws into the win that'd see us in the play offs.

Still think next season will be Ok though.

[Colin Cheeselog]

I go to games to see my team win, which will inevitably happen more now next season than had we fluked promotion. Therefore I'm happy. I'll also get to see more games for less money.

[RoyallyFcuked]

Gutted today, didn't think I would be but I think the last minute winner for Brighton was galling. Less said about the pitch invasion the better.

However I think staying down is the best thing for the club at this moment in time. If we had gone up perhaps Anton would've bought the club if we'd gone up and then we would've been stuck with a fickle owner who owned 100% which would have been a disaster, now we're staying down he can f!ck off.

Get shot of the high earners if possible and bring some of those youngsters through, and welcome some of the injured players back to fitness. I think it's a good opportunity to rebuild the squad.

I think it will be an interesting summer. While he could've done some things differently, I also think that Adkins has been short changed and 7th was probably the best he could've got out of that squad.

Roll on next season.

+1