Summer Rebuild

[maffff]

Welcome.

[SCIAG]

Obviously some players bloom later than others and some take different routes to the top, but just to pick up on a few of those examples from SCIAG as a comparison to out (very good and promising) youngsters.

I can definitely go along with what you're saying, and I shouldn't have listed Riggott. Naturally I'm biased towards the big-name players who I can recall taking the Championship by storm and going on to play for England, but there are also plenty of bottom-half players in the PL who aren't just players who didn't quite make it at Man United. Admittedly their ranks thin out every year as more foreigners appear, but there are plenty of players like Jason Roberts, Lucas Neill or Shane Long in the Championship who will have unremarkable top-flight careers.

I don't think it's likely that more than one or two of our current crop will do so, but it's hard to tell exactly who will.

-----

As for Kelly and Shaughnessy, Kelly's a good player but maybe lacking that special something in attacking positions right now. I can't see Shaughnessy ever playing for the first team, he's a decent player but we have better options.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Oxf*rd off IanRoyal you pcunt

it's also a good reminder occasionally.

You know, I never got one when I joined. That's making me tear up... thankyouthankyouthankyou!

Things could have been so different

[Nameless]

I find it very hard to believe that either Adkins or Clarke would have agreed to accept the job without a contractual agreement in place re funds available for players etc?
But why the owners are so anonymous is amazingly poor PR on their behalf.

I'd be amazed if any owner ever gave a contractual commitment to a certain level of funding.
Unless a manager gave a contractual commitment to a certain level of results....

[Royal Rother]

I think we've all been very patient with The Club and this patience is starting to wear very thin.

The Club need to be very careful here - they are relying heavily on the loyalty of the fans to "stick with us" yet we have never really heard or seen anything about the Thai owners themselves. Loyalty has to be earned and as of yet we have seen or heard very little (if anything) of the Thai owners to give us confidence that things are heading in the right direction. Their silence is deafening.

Because communication is so poor we are having to rely on what we can actually see rather than what we are being told - so as Lloyd Grossman used to say "lets look at the evidence"

1) We've seen a haemorrhaging of playing and non-playing staff and zero replacements. The only voice we hear is that of Steve Clark (who to be fair is trying his best) buts its so obvious that he carries very little weight in terms of new additions to The Club and he cant physically do anything until he hears from the Thai owners (lets remember they don't like to communicate). Where are the owners? Why haven't they ever been introduced properly to the fans? Why haven't they provided some club expectations to the fans? where is the value in remaining silent and hidden away?

2) How and when are budgets set? I would have thought that the budgets for next season would have been completed at the end of last season - that's what most clubs and businesses do! Since then our financial position must have improved with people leaving so if anything we should have had initial budgets in place weeks ago WHICH have now been improved because we have lost players? I personally think the budgets were set some time ago at zero, no one has told Steve Clark and the improving of our financial position over the last few weeks has still probably not put us back in the black?

3) Kem Karacan - how can his contract still be unresolved? Is he staying or going?

4) Steve Clark looks and sounds to me like a man who is trying his hardest to hide his true annoyance. In Adkins and McDermott I believe we had two ideal scape goats for the under investment in The Club. I would love to have an open and honest chat with both of them to find out what really happens behind the scenes as I would expect them to say they were given "certain reassurances about budgets that ultimately failed to materialise". I think Clark could well be the third victim to suffer the same fate. I heard that when we initially approached Adkins about the vacancy he turned us down as he was in Holland on his own personal scouting mission - he was still being paid by Southampton and he had no intention of joining us - the story goes that he was promised a "war chest" of cash with which to improve the side which changed his mind - the rest as they say is history.

My conclusion then is that we should all just accept that there is no money for new players - the expansive black hole that has engulfed RFC finances over the last decade is taking its toll YET AGAIN. The team will be padded out with loan players and youngsters and we will struggle to do as well as last season - which is saying something! relegation is an absolute possibility.

I predict Steve Clark will walk away and in some ways I hope he does and sticks his fingers up at our non-existent board. One of our coaches will step up as interim manager.

Harbringer of Doom

Mr C

That was SO not worth the effort.

[andrew1957]

I think it is the "silence" that is so frustrating. And it sounds like Steve Clarke thinks the same.

If I owned the club then by 1st June I would have worked out the finances and decided what budget there was for purchase and wages of players. I am all for FFP and keeping within means and all that. Quite happy with free transfers to fill gaps and so forth. I would want the manager to act quickly whilst there was still a lot of free transfers to choose from. If not other clubs will act and they will be off the market.

But it sounds like all there is just silence. The manager has gone about his business and identified some good freebies like Quinn and McShane but just silence. Is there any money?

If there is no money then fair enough - why don't the owners just say that because of the high earners in the squad etc we cannot afford to buy more than say a keeper and that we will have to rely on the Under 21's. I would say fair enough - thanks for being straight with us. But there is just silence.

[Unphased Royal]

Charles Watts ‏@charles_watts 18m18 minutes ago
Whisper it quietly but that green light we've all been talking about may have arrived. Things may be beginning to move. #readingfc

[bobby1413]

Charles Watts ‏@charles_watts 18m18 minutes ago
Whisper it quietly but that green light we've all been talking about may have arrived. Things may be beginning to move. #readingfc

Obviously he's talking about the A33. The traffic is awful there

[Ian Royal]

I think it is the "silence" that is so frustrating. And it sounds like Steve Clarke thinks the same.

If I owned the club then by 1st June I would have worked out the finances and decided what budget there was for purchase and wages of players. I am all for FFP and keeping within means and all that. Quite happy with free transfers to fill gaps and so forth. I would want the manager to act quickly whilst there was still a lot of free transfers to choose from. If not other clubs will act and they will be off the market.

But it sounds like all there is just silence. The manager has gone about his business and identified some good freebies like Quinn and McShane but just silence. Is there any money?

If there is no money then fair enough - why don't the owners just say that because of the high earners in the squad etc we cannot afford to buy more than say a keeper and that we will have to rely on the Under 21's. I would say fair enough - thanks for being straight with us. But there is just silence.

Maybe their securing revenue streams to finance the purchases they want to back (Carabao etc). Maybe there's a few financial difficulties in Thailand right now, what with (fake) RFC shares being involved in a criminal investigation. Maybe none of the stuff being reported about a lack of decision on funding is actually true, or at least doesn't accurately reflect the situation

So often something totally without foundation gets pondered on here, then maybe it gets a mention in the press elsewhere, which gets talked about on here. And suddenly total speculation is just discussed as if it's gospel because it's been mentioned several times in several places over a week or two.

[P!ssed Off]

I think it is the "silence" that is so frustrating. And it sounds like Steve Clarke thinks the same.

If I owned the club then by 1st June I would have worked out the finances and decided what budget there was for purchase and wages of players. I am all for FFP and keeping within means and all that. Quite happy with free transfers to fill gaps and so forth. I would want the manager to act quickly whilst there was still a lot of free transfers to choose from. If not other clubs will act and they will be off the market.

But it sounds like all there is just silence. The manager has gone about his business and identified some good freebies like Quinn and McShane but just silence. Is there any money?

If there is no money then fair enough - why don't the owners just say that because of the high earners in the squad etc we cannot afford to buy more than say a keeper and that we will have to rely on the Under 21's. I would say fair enough - thanks for being straight with us. But there is just silence.

Maybe their securing revenue streams to finance the purchases they want to back (Carabao etc). Maybe there's a few financial difficulties in Thailand right now, what with (fake) RFC shares being involved in a criminal investigation. Maybe none of the stuff being reported about a lack of decision on funding is actually true, or at least doesn't accurately reflect the situation

So often something totally without foundation gets pondered on here, then maybe it gets a mention in the press elsewhere, which gets talked about on here. And suddenly total speculation is just discussed as if it's gospel because it's been mentioned several times in several places over a week or two.

They should have secured plenty of revenue when they mortgaged off the hotel.
Let's hope there are not too many financial difficulties in Thailand because not only is the club owned by three individual Thais, but also Bangkok Bank!

[3points]

I do not know much about various team's academies and U21 football, but surely if Reading's academy players were good enough for the Premier League then they would have already been snapped up, much like Sterling and Ibe were by Liverpool?

I don't think anyone's seriously suggesting any of our Academy players, bar perhaps Obita and Hector if you count them, are already good enough for the Premier League.

If you mean in terms of potential, there are plenty of examples of Premier League players who came through at Football League clubs. Theo Walcott, Ashley Young, Adam Lallana, Gareth Bale, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Joe Allen, Aaron Lennon, Fabian Delph, Ashley Westwood, Nick Powell, Victor Moses, Wilfried Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott.

Several of our young players have already been courted by Premier League sides, but have stuck with us - probably because they think they'll have a better chance of displace Hal Robson-Kanu and Oliver Norwood than Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey.

SCIAG - I don't disagree with the principal of your comment. The point i was trying to make is that most people would assume Ake and Chalobah are deemed to be better players than Kuhl as they are in the Chelsea academy and are regular U21 internationals. Whether that is true or not depends, at this stage, on an individual's relative perspective. Personally I thought they both looked better than most of our squad, but that's me. However, because they are "Chelsea players" I think supporters' expectations is higher which is why many didn't think they were that good but, at the end of the day, neither may make it in top flight football and Kuhl may do.

[Coppelled_Streets]

Mikkel Andersen to Danish champions FC Midtjylland confirmed.

[Ian Royal]

Maybe their securing revenue streams to finance the purchases they want to back (Carabao etc). Maybe there's a few financial difficulties in Thailand right now, what with (fake) RFC shares being involved in a criminal investigation. Maybe none of the stuff being reported about a lack of decision on funding is actually true, or at least doesn't accurately reflect the situation

So often something totally without foundation gets pondered on here, then maybe it gets a mention in the press elsewhere, which gets talked about on here. And suddenly total speculation is just discussed as if it's gospel because it's been mentioned several times in several places over a week or two.

They should have secured plenty of revenue when they mortgaged off the hotel.
!

And may have already spent it on the club for all you know.

[Coppelled_Streets]

The hotel has nothing to do with the football club any more, so you can't expect any money from it to go into the football club.

[paultheroyal]

Getting excited for the new season now. Fresh start, so many new faces making their debut, this could go one of two ways, let's hope it's the positive one!

[Nameless]

SCIAG - I don't disagree with the principal of your comment. The point i was trying to make is that most people would assume Ake and Chalobah are deemed to be better players than Kuhl as they are in the Chelsea academy and are regular U21 internationals. Whether that is true or not depends, at this stage, on an individual's relative perspective. Personally I thought they both looked better than most of our squad, but that's me. However, because they are "Chelsea players" I think supporters' expectations is higher which is why many didn't think they were that good but, at the end of the day, neither may make it in top flight football and Kuhl may do.

Be fair though. Challah and Ake are older than Kuhl so no surprise they are playing for the older age group internationally. Kuhn was playing for his age group England side last season.....
Being in an Premiership Academy is ok, but players chose Academy's for different reasons and it's quite possible that good players have avoided Chelsea in particular given their record of not bringing players through to there first team. With Kuhl's dad being an ex pro he may have a view on where the best place to develop as a pro is !
We're also talking potential rather than where the players are now. Neither Chalobah or Ake can pass the ball like Kuhl, both are clearly very good players but if you've watched Kuhl in the u18 and u21 you will know he has a rare talent that if it develops will put him in a special category of players.

[Royalwaster]

Getting excited for the new season now. Fresh start, so many new faces making their debut, this could go one of two ways, let's hope it's the positive one!

What are you on?

[CrowthorneRoyal]

SCIAG - I don't disagree with the principal of your comment. The point i was trying to make is that most people would assume Ake and Chalobah are deemed to be better players than Kuhl as they are in the Chelsea academy and are regular U21 internationals. Whether that is true or not depends, at this stage, on an individual's relative perspective. Personally I thought they both looked better than most of our squad, but that's me. However, because they are "Chelsea players" I think supporters' expectations is higher which is why many didn't think they were that good but, at the end of the day, neither may make it in top flight football and Kuhl may do.

Be fair though. Challah and Ake are older than Kuhl so no surprise they are playing for the older age group internationally. Kuhn was playing for his age group England side last season.....
Being in an Premiership Academy is ok, but players chose Academy's for different reasons and it's quite possible that good players have avoided Chelsea in particular given their record of not bringing players through to there first team. With Kuhl's dad being an ex pro he may have a view on where the best place to develop as a pro is !
We're also talking potential rather than where the players are now. Neither Chalobah or Ake can pass the ball like Kuhl, both are clearly very good players but if you've watched Kuhl in the u18 and u21 you will know he has a rare talent that if it develops will put him in a special category of players.

+1

[urz13]

Obviously Sa will be on fairly low wages, but if we're spending over £1m on him then that's an encouraging sign that the financial side is starting to improve

[Elm Park Kid]

If that Pog story is remotely true then it gives you some insight to the serious problems the club has. £55k a week is enough to cover the salaries of at least 4 decent championship standard players. Throw in the rumoured salaries of players like HRK, McCleary and Williams and it's not hard to see how the club could be spending an entire squad's worth of salary on 5-6 players. It's hardly surprising that Clarke can't really add to that total unless savings are made in other areas.

Until some of those players are off the books our options are limited. I just hope we can get through the season . . . . .