Summer Rebuild

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Floyd is basically the only one who thinks he bombed

I'd say that someone who features in more than 70% of our matches is very much a 'key member' of the team.

I'd say someone who played in 70% of games and was effective in less than a third of those is probably expendable.

[melonhead]

id say that would represent a slight uplift in the average effectiveness stats when compared to the rest of the team last year tbf

[Nameless]

There's quite an obvious difference to being a member of the team and being a 'key' member.
judging your importance to the team on how often you were selected in a position where we have few if any alternatives is not a great measure.
I don't see how any one can really argue that HRK has not, despite having lots of opportunity and playing plenty of games, done any more than offer frustrating glimpses of what he can do.
Dismissing Kuhl on the basis of watching a couple of games smacks of someone looking for an argument rather than a considered opinion.....

[Royalwaster]

There's quite an obvious difference to being a member of the team and being a 'key' member.
judging your importance to the team on how often you were selected in a position where we have few if any alternatives is not a great measure.
I don't see how any one can really argue that HRK has not, despite having lots of opportunity and playing plenty of games, done any more than offer frustrating glimpses of what he can do.
Dismissing Kuhl on the basis of watching a couple of games smacks of someone looking for an argument rather than a considered opinion.....

+1 = agree it's a non-argument ... how can you compare a very recent academic product with someone who has been in the squad for ages? It's like saying release Samuel because he's not scored as many goals as the Pog ...

[floyd__streete]

+1 = agree it's a non-argument ... how can you compare a very recent academic product with someone who has been in the squad for ages? It's like saying release Samuel because he's not scored as many goals as the Pog ...

I was comparing attitudes towards a player who is a regular first team member who has served us reasonably well over a number of years and yet who gets a disproportionate amount of h8, to a much lauded academy product who hasn't performed at all in his sporadic appearances and yet can do no wrong in the eyes of many. I think that the constant rubbishing of HRK is tiresome, somewhat harsh, ignorant and frankly rather typical of Reading supporters. If you want to rubbish anyone, save your ire for the likes of Akpan and Blackman who frankly haven't performed for us at all. HRK has north of 150 appearances for us and a Championship winners medal. Even the smallest modicum of respect wouldn't go amiss. Then again, Jobi McAnuff used to get plenty of grief so I don't know what I am expecting really.

FWIW I think HRK largely performed just as poorly as anyone else last season and that Kuhl clearly has some ability which could really shine through via a year on loan at somewhere like Wycombe, getting kicked around a bit and learning the game, learning not to try playing the 'Hollywood pass' every third touch.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Difference was with Jobi no one in their right mind could doubt that he was always playing near his potential.

With Robson-Kanu he clearly can do it, it's just that most of the time he doesn't. And it always looks like the reason he doesn't is because he just hasn't got the hungry attitude needed to push himself.

So the h8 for Jobi was the work of deluded quarter-wits. The h8 for HRK has rather more justification.

[Woodcote Royal]

A good bit of PR a few months ago may not have resulted in season ticket sales plunging as they have.

Is that too unreasonable a viewpoint for you sycophants?

Suspect any drop in season ticket sales can be better explained by the utterly dreadful football served up in the second half of the season and our worst league placing for a decade.

I think this earler observation might have more to do with it

Reading supporters are terribly insecure and an inherently miserable bunch of fcukers.

[Royalwaster]

+1 = agree it's a non-argument ... how can you compare a very recent academic product with someone who has been in the squad for ages? It's like saying release Samuel because he's not scored as many goals as the Pog ...

I was comparing attitudes towards a player who is a regular first team member who has served us reasonably well over a number of years and yet who gets a disproportionate amount of h8, to a much lauded academy product who hasn't performed at all in his sporadic appearances and yet can do no wrong in the eyes of many. I think that the constant rubbishing of HRK is tiresome, somewhat harsh, ignorant and frankly rather typical of Reading supporters. If you want to rubbish anyone, save your ire for the likes of Akpan and Blackman who frankly haven't performed for us at all. HRK has north of 150 appearances for us and a Championship winners medal. Even the smallest modicum of respect wouldn't go amiss. Then again, Jobi McAnuff used to get plenty of grief so I don't know what I am expecting really.

FWIW I think HRK largely performed just as poorly as anyone else last season and that Kuhl clearly has some ability which could really shine through via a year on loan at somewhere like Wycombe, getting kicked around a bit and learning the game, learning not to try playing the 'Hollywood pass' every third touch.

Agree that it's a bit unfair to single out HRK - as lots of players performed abysmally last season; but there are a couple of factors with him that attract people's attention: a) his apparent belief that he's good enough for the Prem, b) the way in so many matches I watched, he simply went missing and might as well not have been on the pitch, c) the wages he's on. Hence why the Pog gets a disproportionate amount of criticism ... i.e. his cost-benefit ratio is particularly bad. So comparing him with Kuhl is simply wrong - he's on low wages and no-one expects him to be amazing just yet.

[ZacNaloen]

Kuhls in the same position Hal was in 2008, lots of potential and looks exciting if he realises it.

Hal has sort of lived up to that potential but really does look like he always had more to give as he looks like he's coasting, and is also a bit weird. For some reason people resent that.

[RoyallyFcuked]

Oh come on, he's VERY good at falling over with that fcuking annoying twist / lunge where he looks a broken doll.

I was wrong, he is very good at that.

[RoyallyFcuked]

It would be shame if Cox goes just because we can't shift Pog.

So Cox is better than Pog is he?

Right-o.

I'd say Simon Cox is a more talented footballer than Pavel Pogrebnyak, yes.

You're just upset because when Pog arrived you said that he is/will be the best footballer ever to play for Reading

And to think I often think you talk sense...

[SCIAG]

When we signed Pog, Floyd shat all over his scoring record. He really came around after seeing him play.

I like them both, but I think it's safe to say Pog is comfortably better. That's why he's been top scorer in the Europa League, whilst Cox has only ever done that in League One.

[floyd__streete]

I like them both, but I think it's safe to say Pog is comfortably better. That's why he's been top scorer in the Europa League, whilst Cox has only ever done that in League One.

Pog has had a disastrous Reading career, no doubt about that. Money tied up in wages for very modest return and the regular sense displayed by the player himself that all this is beneath him.

I've enjoyed watching him play. On the all too rare occasions that he is at his best, he has been a pleasure to watch, he has a good footballing brain which he displays in the way he picks a good reverse pass, a clever flick. When we signed him, I took one look at his height and build and expected a powerful goal-poacher of a centre-forward. We we were never actually getting that, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the (all too rare) best of what we got instead.

As Reading supporters, we aren't going to watch our team win every week so at least I want to be occasionally entertained. Pog's goal at Loftus Road when he backheeled the ball deftly into the net rather than turn and smash it towards goal and risk giving the flailing QPR defence a chance to block was a joy in itself. 5 minutes later he won and then missed a penalty and I rather think those 5 minutes rather summed up his career with us

By the same token, I'd have Andre Bikey over Alex Pearce any day of the week.

[blueroyals]

When we signed Pog, Floyd shat all over his scoring record. He really came around after seeing him play.

I like them both, but I think it's safe to say Pog is comfortably better. That's why he's been top scorer in the Europa League, whilst Cox has only ever done that in League One.

But Cox has a better cost/performance ratio

[Forbury Lion]

When we signed Pog, Floyd shat all over his scoring record. He really came around after seeing him play.

I like them both, but I think it's safe to say Pog is comfortably better. That's why he's been top scorer in the Europa League, whilst Cox has only ever done that in League One.

But Cox has a better cost/performance ratio

Cost is irrelevant if you can't do anything about it.

[Lacoste]

Clarke Update.....

We’re still looking. If I could get three more I would be happy.

“Obviously if I could get a few more than that I would be delighted, but I’m still looking at having at least three to come in.”

[Z175]

Clarke Update.....

We’re still looking. If I could get three more I would be happy.

“Obviously if I could get a few more than that I would be delighted, but I’m still looking at having at least three to come in.”

So would I be Steve! At least three?! Are we genuinely targeting promotion?!

In my opinion we need a striker and a left back but after that we are looking at the icing on the cake. I think we need a Roberts/Yakubu style experienced PL level striker who is good in the air and can hold the ball up but I don't know of any realistic options. Peter Crouch maybe.

If we are playing fantasy football then I think we need more in midfield. Although Quinn is an excellent signing remember we had Chalobah last season and ended up 19th... I think while we have a lot of championship quality central midfielders we actually lack any that are known ball winners or 10 goal a season players. So if we are getting greedy a goalscoring deep lying forward/attacking midfielder and a tough tackling holding midfielder would be useful. In tight games that one player off the bench with a bit of skill to score from range can be the difference.

If we lose either HRK (please!) or McCleary (hope not) then we should replace them like for like. But I as it stands with Fosu coming through and Obita potentially able to push up I think we have enough.

Defence we have a lot of youth coming through. I don't see the point of signing players as cover and I don't see us being able to get attract/afford better options than Gunter, Hector, McShane and Obita.

A 3rd choice goalkeeper would be sensible too.

Finally to cap it all in my promotion winning squad I'd want a fast pacey striker who can finish. Dwight Gayle from Palace would do the job for me.

[Lacoste]

I agree we need another CM. I'm aware we're quite top heavy in that area but before the summer started, I thought we would need more then one to change the way we play and stop the rot from last season.

1 striker
1 CM
1 Left sided player

Anything after that, like you say, would be a cherry on the top.

I think the closer we get to the end of August, some of our less wanted players will be off anyway and bids will start to come in.

[Ian Royal]

Assuming Kelly doesn't sign in descending order of importance, for me it's:

LW, LB, ST, RW, RB. with striker on down being nice to haves, not must haves. Shifting HRK and Pog would be nice though unrealistic. I think we could get away without an extra player if HRK goes as long as we get both LB and LW in, which we need anyway.

An experienced LB to give Owusu time to step up maybe.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Forgot about Kelly.