January window

[Nameless]

I’d also be keen to offer Moro a new deal, although suspect we’d offer 1 year and he’d want more (and would get it perhaps at Div 1)
He’s been a quality player for us and appears to be a very good influence on the younger players.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I'd definitely give Morro another year whatever tbh. Would rather try to get Holmes a full season somewhere in Div1/champ if poss

Maybe I get carried away with Holmes. Looking at our recent run, he was at fault for several Swansea chances and Huddersfield's goal, not to mention lucky to stay on the pitch against Coventry. He's shown strong development, but maybe he's not quite ready to be a regular in a promotion chasing team. In which case signing this guy and giving Morrison another year is good sense.

Like to think Morro would sign a 1 year deal. Birmingham only offering 1 year when he was 31 was a ridiculously bad decision, but it's a different situation at 33. Can't see any Championship side offering 2 years or more.

[tidus_mi2]

I think a fair few people get carried away with Holmes, he's done well but he's been suspect on occasions but I would give him leeway as he's young and being played out of position. One thing I've noticed him do several times this season is try to intercept the ball but the attacking player does a quick change of pace and he's left flat footed where a more experienced player will just continue to run alongside the player.

[Hound]

Holmes has done brilliantly, but he has spent half the season playing out of position, and the season before in the 2nd div in Belgium

Lots of potential but certainly not first choice cb in a promotion chasing team yet imo

[linkenholtroyal]

Famara Diédhiou Only has a contract till the end of the season with Bristol. Boro are favourites to sign him atm but we must be a more attractive option for him. I think it would have to be a pre contract agreement though as we could not afford a fee this window. But if we get Baldocks wages off this would be a real coup. Like for like for Joao aswell.

As another side note do you think Puscas could play LAM or RAM to get him some game time he certainly has pace just not sure of his ball control or crossing.

[Nameless]

Holmes has done brilliantly, but he has spent half the season playing out of position, and the season before in the 2nd div in Belgium

Lots of potential but certainly not first choice cb in a promotion chasing team yet imo

There’s is also the danger of looking for errors. I suspect if you looked closely at our more experienced players you could come up with a couple of errors, a goal they were at fault for and the odd time they might have picked up a second yellow. Holmes is a really good young prospect who adapted to fill an unfamiliar role in an emergency and did a very decent job. He’s got more development to do and if we had 4 other cbs he would benefit from a better loan than his Belgian adventure.

[Nameless]

Famara Diédhiou Only has a contract till the end of the season with Bristol. Boro are favourites to sign him atm but we must be a more attractive option for him. I think it would have to be a pre contract agreement though as we could not afford a fee this window. But if we get Baldocks wages off this would be a real coup. Like for like for Joao aswell.

As another side note do you think Puscas could play LAM or RAM to get him some game time he certainly has pace just not sure of his ball control or crossing.

Don’t think we can sign precontract agreements right now can we (only overseas clubs), and if we are restricted by FFP stupidity on signings we woukdn’t be allowed to commit to a future signing would we ?
Puscas probably could play as a winger but not sure LAM and RAM are wingers are they ? Woukdn’t think he could do what Ejaria or Olise do. He could probably do a similar job to Meite, but Meite does that job pretty well.

[Hound]

Famara Diédhiou Only has a contract till the end of the season with Bristol. Boro are favourites to sign him atm but we must be a more attractive option for him. I think it would have to be a pre contract agreement though as we could not afford a fee this window. But if we get Baldocks wages off this would be a real coup. Like for like for Joao aswell.

As another side note do you think Puscas could play LAM or RAM to get him some game time he certainly has pace just not sure of his ball control or crossing.

Don’t think we can sign precontract agreements right now can we (only overseas clubs), and if we are restricted by FFP stupidity on signings we woukdn’t be allowed to commit to a future signing would we ?
Puscas probably could play as a winger but not sure LAM and RAM are wingers are they ? Woukdn’t think he could do what Ejaria or Olise do. He could probably do a similar job to Meite, but Meite does that job pretty well.

I did see the Diedhiou stuff, I thought he was more likely to sign a pre-agreement and move abroad in 6 months from what I could gather

BC are asking for 2m now. Being as they will think they can get play offs still, can see them keeping hold of him for the rest of the season

But yeah, did cross my mind he'd be a decent signing at 2m, and even better as a free in the summer

[TiagoIlori]

Aaron Long is an interesting one. A lot of people seem to think he’s better than Miazga and a year ago West Ham were in for him. Not great on the ball but very good defensively. I don’t understand the rationale in going in for him though, all our current centre backs are excellent quality.

But he’d complete a high quality set of options and cover the out of contract and not getting any younger Morrison. An experienced right sided CB does make sense in many ways, especially of available for free or nominal fee.

But here’s the thing. If we stay down it’s unlikely we’d be able to keep him permanently. If we go up we may be best off going for a defender better at passing the ball. He’s probably going to be on a fair amount given there’s more money in the MLS and he’d want to walk straight into the team given the primary reason for him going is to regain match fitness.

He’s not coming here to warm the bench for us.

[gazzer, loyal royal]

Apparently Liverpool are interested in Long

[linkenholtroyal]

Famara Diédhiou Only has a contract till the end of the season with Bristol. Boro are favourites to sign him atm but we must be a more attractive option for him. I think it would have to be a pre contract agreement though as we could not afford a fee this window. But if we get Baldocks wages off this would be a real coup. Like for like for Joao aswell.

As another side note do you think Puscas could play LAM or RAM to get him some game time he certainly has pace just not sure of his ball control or crossing.

Don’t think we can sign precontract agreements right now can we (only overseas clubs), and if we are restricted by FFP stupidity on signings we woukdn’t be allowed to commit to a future signing would we ?
Puscas probably could play as a winger but not sure LAM and RAM are wingers are they ? Woukdn’t think he could do what Ejaria or Olise do. He could probably do a similar job to Meite, but Meite does that job pretty well.

I do wonder about this pre-contract thing. Laurent was agreed before we could officially agree it I am sure. We can’t officially offer anything but our representatives saying “hey Famara we stand a chance of going up aswell as Bristol, last it out there till the end of the season and see if they go up, if not we have a contract here at Reading for you to play with some great young talent.”

On Puscas we do have other players higher up the pecking order wherever he could play but if he could play one of those deeper roles injuries would give him game time. We do not have masses of depth in those 3 roles behind the striker. Olise, Meite, Ejaria, Swift and Aluko can all play across there but a couple of injuries and we look very light or a run of games in quick succession. This could be another option for Puscas if he could play there.

[Nameless]

Famara Diédhiou Only has a contract till the end of the season with Bristol. Boro are favourites to sign him atm but we must be a more attractive option for him. I think it would have to be a pre contract agreement though as we could not afford a fee this window. But if we get Baldocks wages off this would be a real coup. Like for like for Joao aswell.

As another side note do you think Puscas could play LAM or RAM to get him some game time he certainly has pace just not sure of his ball control or crossing.

Don’t think we can sign precontract agreements right now can we (only overseas clubs), and if we are restricted by FFP stupidity on signings we woukdn’t be allowed to commit to a future signing would we ?
Puscas probably could play as a winger but not sure LAM and RAM are wingers are they ? Woukdn’t think he could do what Ejaria or Olise do. He could probably do a similar job to Meite, but Meite does that job pretty well.

I do wonder about this pre-contract thing. Laurent was agreed before we could officially agree it I am sure. We can’t officially offer anything but our representatives saying “hey Famara we stand a chance of going up aswell as Bristol, last it out there till the end of the season and see if they go up, if not we have a contract here at Reading for you to play with some great young talent.”

On Puscas we do have other players higher up the pecking order wherever he could play but if he could play one of those deeper roles injuries would give him game time. We do not have masses of depth in those 3 roles behind the striker. Olise, Meite, Ejaria, Swift and Aluko can all play across there but a couple of injuries and we look very light or a run of games in quick succession. This could be another option for Puscas if he could play there.

His ability is getting on the end of passes, not the passing. If we lost 4 of our 6 or 7 mid midfield options (Semedo and Tetek and even Pendlebury all play there) then I would probably expect us to go 442 and play Puscas with Joao.

[Sutekh]

Sam Smith going to Cheltenham for the rest of the season.

[linkenholtroyal]

Don’t think we can sign precontract agreements right now can we (only overseas clubs), and if we are restricted by FFP stupidity on signings we woukdn’t be allowed to commit to a future signing would we ?
Puscas probably could play as a winger but not sure LAM and RAM are wingers are they ? Woukdn’t think he could do what Ejaria or Olise do. He could probably do a similar job to Meite, but Meite does that job pretty well.

I do wonder about this pre-contract thing. Laurent was agreed before we could officially agree it I am sure. We can’t officially offer anything but our representatives saying “hey Famara we stand a chance of going up aswell as Bristol, last it out there till the end of the season and see if they go up, if not we have a contract here at Reading for you to play with some great young talent.”

On Puscas we do have other players higher up the pecking order wherever he could play but if he could play one of those deeper roles injuries would give him game time. We do not have masses of depth in those 3 roles behind the striker. Olise, Meite, Ejaria, Swift and Aluko can all play across there but a couple of injuries and we look very light or a run of games in quick succession. This could be another option for Puscas if he could play there.

His ability is getting on the end of passes, not the passing. If we lost 4 of our 6 or 7 mid midfield options (Semedo and Tetek and even Pendlebury all play there) then I would probably expect us to go 442 and play Puscas with Joao.

You are right very true, square peg round hole, if we lose the players to play the formation change the formation.

[Sutekh]

Jokull Andresson off to Exeter for the rest of the season

VP advises Reading still talking with both McIntyre and Richards over new deals.

[Wisconsin Royal]

Aaron Long is an interesting one. A lot of people seem to think he’s better than Miazga and a year ago West Ham were in for him. Not great on the ball but very good defensively. I don’t understand the rationale in going in for him though, all our current centre backs are excellent quality.

He is better than Miazga. This would be an awesome move.

[South Coast Royal]

It must be a real quandary for the club at the moment over what players to sign and what players to offer new contracts to especially in light of FFP where we fans are in the dark.

Much has been made of the progress shown by Tommy Mac and Holmes, which in both cases has been encouraging, but can you see them being good enough for Premier League football in 6 or 7 months time?
Will Morro still have the legs to go with his tremendous commitment?

Seeing the sorry state of the WBA squad and Fulham's before they undertook a swift overhaul it is so difficult to know if players that get you to the Premier League are going to be good enough when they get there.

The first thing I suppose is to get there, so do you try between now and Monday to improve a squad that look distinct possibles for a play-off spot and a bit short for automatic or do you just suck it and see and once again "go with what we have got"?

Most of us seem to be of the opinion that centre-back improvements aren't the most pressing.
So, rather than looking at bringing in a centre-back should the club be looking more at the winger and the back-up striker that many feel will strengthen the squad and give added options during the run-in, especially if money is as tight as we are led to believe?

In a way I think we are some way off being good enough for the Premier League as it stands but if we don't take what is the best opportunity for some time do we then next season start again with a possibly weakened squad with Richards and Olise , two of our better players gone?

It is a quandary for all the clubs in and around the top 6 because, as we know, this division can be very hard to get out of (upwards) as many much bigger clubs have discovered over the years -that quandary is greater now because of financial pressures, even though the 3 relegated clubs have the benefit of tidy parachute payments.

The next 3 days will be interesting and let's hope that we do some business to improve our chances.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Jokull Andresson off to Exeter for the rest of the season

VP advises Reading still talking with both McIntyre and Richards over new deals.

Andresson looks like a prospect. Add in Southwood and CBC and our academy looks like it's producing a good conveyor belt of talented keepers again.

[linkenholtroyal]

It must be a real quandary for the club at the moment over what players to sign and what players to offer new contracts to especially in light of FFP where we fans are in the dark.

Much has been made of the progress shown by Tommy Mac and Holmes, which in both cases has been encouraging, but can you see them being good enough for Premier League football in 6 or 7 months time?
Will Morro still have the legs to go with his tremendous commitment?

Seeing the sorry state of the WBA squad and Fulham's before they undertook a swift overhaul it is so difficult to know if players that get you to the Premier League are going to be good enough when they get there.

The first thing I suppose is to get there, so do you try between now and Monday to improve a squad that look distinct possibles for a play-off spot and a bit short for automatic or do you just suck it and see and once again "go with what we have got"?

Most of us seem to be of the opinion that centre-back improvements aren't the most pressing.
So, rather than looking at bringing in a centre-back should the club be looking more at the winger and the back-up striker that many feel will strengthen the squad and give added options during the run-in, especially if money is as tight as we are led to believe?

In a way I think we are some way off being good enough for the Premier League as it stands but if we don't take what is the best opportunity for some time do we then next season start again with a possibly weakened squad with Richards and Olise , two of our better players gone?

It is a quandary for all the clubs in and around the top 6 because, as we know, this division can be very hard to get out of (upwards) as many much bigger clubs have discovered over the years -that quandary is greater now because of financial pressures, even though the 3 relegated clubs have the benefit of tidy parachute payments.

The next 3 days will be interesting and let's hope that we do some business to improve our chances.

Interesting bit about where we would need improvements for the Premier League.

Say we got promoted this is where i see the gaps in the current formation to survive in the Prem

Goalkeeping
I think we would need someone with Premier league experience to compete with Rafael. Maybe Butland not that I dont think the others are good enough I just dont think they are yet give them all a season on loan at league 1 champ level and see how they do.

LB Richards is good enough but there is no cover a seasoned pro would be good to give competition and back up.
RB Yiadom is good enough as first choice, need a proper RB unless Holmes moves there permanently. Yiadom is also perma crocked
CB Moore Is good enough and Mcintyre, Morrison and Holmes are good enough to fill in but we will need someone here
CM Laurent and Rinhomota are good enough but we have been very lucky that neither of them have picked up an injury this year realistically would need 2 here as another option / back up
CAM Olise, Swift and Ejaria are both good enough and should cover this
RAM Ejaria and Olise can play here and has done well but this is not his natural position this is an area that needs addressing.
LAM Meite is the real deal and will only get better, no cover though
CF Joao deserves a chance to step up and will, (with or without us), Puscas is world class we have just got to make him fit but in a full prem season you would want a third option and that is not there at the moment.

so to survive in the premier league we need in my opinion-
1 GK, 1CB, 1LB, 1RB, 2CM, 2RAM, 1 LAM and 1CF thats to give cover in each position and the loans and predicted OOC players leaving (Aluko and Baldock)

[Nameless]

It must be a real quandary for the club at the moment over what players to sign and what players to offer new contracts to especially in light of FFP where we fans are in the dark.

Much has been made of the progress shown by Tommy Mac and Holmes, which in both cases has been encouraging, but can you see them being good enough for Premier League football in 6 or 7 months time?
Will Morro still have the legs to go with his tremendous commitment?

Seeing the sorry state of the WBA squad and Fulham's before they undertook a swift overhaul it is so difficult to know if players that get you to the Premier League are going to be good enough when they get there.

The first thing I suppose is to get there, so do you try between now and Monday to improve a squad that look distinct possibles for a play-off spot and a bit short for automatic or do you just suck it and see and once again "go with what we have got"?

Most of us seem to be of the opinion that centre-back improvements aren't the most pressing.
So, rather than looking at bringing in a centre-back should the club be looking more at the winger and the back-up striker that many feel will strengthen the squad and give added options during the run-in, especially if money is as tight as we are led to believe?

In a way I think we are some way off being good enough for the Premier League as it stands but if we don't take what is the best opportunity for some time do we then next season start again with a possibly weakened squad with Richards and Olise , two of our better players gone?

It is a quandary for all the clubs in and around the top 6 because, as we know, this division can be very hard to get out of (upwards) as many much bigger clubs have discovered over the years -that quandary is greater now because of financial pressures, even though the 3 relegated clubs have the benefit of tidy parachute payments.

The next 3 days will be interesting and let's hope that we do some business to improve our chances.

Interesting bit about where we would need improvements for the Premier League.

Say we got promoted this is where i see the gaps in the current formation to survive in the Prem

Goalkeeping
I think we would need someone with Premier league experience to compete with Rafael. Maybe Butland not that I dont think the others are good enough I just dont think they are yet give them all a season on loan at league 1 champ level and see how they do.

LB Richards is good enough but there is no cover a seasoned pro would be good to give competition and back up.
RB Yiadom is good enough as first choice, need a proper RB unless Holmes moves there permanently. Yiadom is also perma crocked
CB Moore Is good enough and Mcintyre, Morrison and Holmes are good enough to fill in but we will need someone here
CM Laurent and Rinhomota are good enough but we have been very lucky that neither of them have picked up an injury this year realistically would need 2 here as another option / back up
CAM Olise, Swift and Ejaria are both good enough and should cover this
RAM Ejaria and Olise can play here and has done well but this is not his natural position this is an area that needs addressing.
LAM Meite is the real deal and will only get better, no cover though
CF Joao deserves a chance to step up and will, (with or without us), Puscas is world class we have just got to make him fit but in a full prem season you would want a third option and that is not there at the moment.

so to survive in the premier league we need in my opinion-
1 GK, 1CB, 1LB, 1RB, 2CM, 2RAM, 1 LAM and 1CF thats to give cover in each position and the loans and predicted OOC players leaving (Aluko and Baldock)

Meite plays on the right surely ?

For what it’s worth, if we went up I think we would either need to spend huge sums to strengthen right through the team or spend very little, keep faith in who we have and expect to be strong enough to give promotion another shot.
I don’t think ny of our current players are guaranteed to be good enough for the PL although plenty give grounds for optimism. I think we’d need quite a few players with PL experience to provide us with a backbone.
The good news is that should we go up I would expect Dai Yongge to spend loads of money. The issue would be how wisely he spent it and who was advising him.