LITA GONE OUT ON LOAN

[79Royal]

Let's have a little perspective here.

1) Lita hasn't played for the first team in a while and wasn't even on the bench for Saturday. Even in the games he has played, Man Utd aside, he's been slated by most.

2) He may have been scoring for the reserves, but a lot of people on here who have seen the games have said that the goals masked some bigger problems in his all round play.

3) None of us see him in training every day, so we don't really know what he's like.

4) Of the four games he's going to miss, we probably only expect to win once, but the games he's going to be back for will against four of the teams around us.

It is a shock and it would have been better if we could have found him this move a month ago, but there is some method to it.

[Gordons Cumming]

Let's have a little perspective here.

1) Lita hasn't played for the first team in a while and wasn't even on the bench for Saturday. Even in the games he has played, Man Utd aside, he's been slated by most.

2) He may have been scoring for the reserves, but a lot of people on here who have seen the games have said that the goals masked some bigger problems in his all round play.

3) None of us see him in training every day, so we don't really know what he's like.

4) Of the four games he's going to miss, we probably only expect to win once, but the games he's going to be back for will against four of the teams around us.

It is a shock and it would have been better if we could have found him this move a month ago, but there is some method to it.

The voice of reason in a thread of complete panic stricken silliness.

[Alan Partridge]

Lita is a prima donna.

Good riddance I say.

Yeah good riddance, lets have a team of Shane Long's least he doesn't offend anyone and runs around a bit.

[Southbank Old Boy]

I imagine there is some kind of recall option in the loan agreement should we be hit by suspensions/ injuries, but that's not really the point. Doyle is now under no real competition for his place and I can't see how that's a good thing.

From a long term perspective I was more upset by Cox going than the prospect of Lita going. He must be doing something seriously wrong off the pitch not to have displaced Doyle by now.

Pretty sure that, as was said earlier, you can't recall a player in the first month of a loan!

[Fezza]

I think this day has been coming for a long time, RFC have finally drawn a line under Lita's career here as far as I am concerned. He must have been making a lot of enemies in the squad with his attitude if we are willing to loan him out to a Championship team at this stage of the season. It's not as if he needs the experience at that level to kick start him again, his fitness should be fine as well so it just doesn't make sense from a football perspective.

I think that post pretty much sums it up H&P...

Sort of like a try before you buy deal!!!!

Still it's a shocking decision in a season of shocking decisions by the clubs management.

November - we'll strngthen and push on the the next level.
December - There is money to invest and I feel we need to strengthen
January - I have Faith!!!! Dither dither - Lita should have been replaced at this point, but, you need four stikers!
February - Your all clueless and I can drop the whole first team.
March - Leroy out on loan - I'm sure 3 strikers will be enough - I have Faith.

Still p*ssed off!

[Stranded]

First of all to AP. Lita started 6 out of the last 11 games of last year.

And to both Cmonurz and AP can't you see? Coppell does not trust Lita as much as Doyle, Kitson and Long. Why is that such a difficult thing to understand? Sure Coppell has been lambasted for being to loyal but sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling as a manager.

Should Martin Scorsese have got rid of Robert De Niro after a couple of dud films?

In the same way he's trusted Murty, sonko, Oster over others, it gives me no faith in him anymore.

It's the timing as much as anything.

6 out of the last 11 last year? That's loads, how many has doyle started since his las goal?

And how many of those starts have seen Doyle playing on the right hand side of midfield? If it's just as important to highlight the stop/start nature of Lita's season then it is also important to note that Doyle has played a decent amount of games in midfield and not as a striker. Could have just as big an effect.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

Admittedly I haven't read through all six pages of this debate, got to about the third page and it was all quite repetitive.

I can honestly say that I was hoping Leroy was going to start on Saturday against Man City. They are missing pace at the back with Richards out, and last season at Eastlands Lita was absolutely awesome and was only denied a hattrick by an incorrect linesman's flag on Hunt.

If there was ever a stage for Lita to once again shine on, it was this Saturday. City have a depleted squad thanks to injuries and suspensions to key players, we've just picked up our first win in donkey's years, and, with our two regular strikers under-performing, Leroy should've had his chance to prove that his two clinical strikes of last season were not one-offs.

In my opinion this is absolutely outrageous and is one of the most questionable managerial decisions of a vert long time. We need everyone at this club available and to ship out the one player we have who may be able to find us a few goals in the all important run-in is suicidal.

I hope I'm proved wrong but I think Coppell may live to regret this.

You maybe right. I hope you are wrong.

The two sides in this debate have more in common than it looks at first glance. I wanted Lita to start against Citeh as well, you can check my posts on the 'Do they hate him thay much' thread.

I hope we can pull something out of the bag in the Citeh game...

I too hope that either Kitson or Doyle can pop up with a goal and put this Lita discussion behind us, but unfortunately both look stale and void of any ideas. I'm not suggesting it's doom and gloom for definite without Leroy, but to have him in the frame is very beneficial.

I remember Coppell saying a few months ago that Leroy was impressive in training and just got on with it. He asked not to play against Spurs if he was going to be sold as he didn't want to be cup-tied. That's the only negative thing I've really heard and to be honest, his request then was fairly reasonable.

This season's not been great for Leroy so far, I'm willing to admit that. But some strikers need a run of a few games and a lucky goal to go in before they really start to perform. Leroy is one of those strikers.

With Matejovski now in the team, who is a bit of a luxury player but can pick out a decent pass into feet, I think Lita would have profitted. As it is though, he never got a chance to show that.

[Sir Rodney Effing]

Come on, whatever our own opinions on Coppell or Lita hands up who really thought he would play again this season (unless the team coach span off the M1 last week at 70MPH)? So we've not really lot anything. And that is not a comment on Lita's abilities.
I also think there has been a non-football reason behind all of this too.

[Alan Partridge]

First of all to AP. Lita started 6 out of the last 11 games of last year.

And to both Cmonurz and AP can't you see? Coppell does not trust Lita as much as Doyle, Kitson and Long. Why is that such a difficult thing to understand? Sure Coppell has been lambasted for being to loyal but sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling as a manager.

Should Martin Scorsese have got rid of Robert De Niro after a couple of dud films?

In the same way he's trusted Murty, sonko, Oster over others, it gives me no faith in him anymore.

It's the timing as much as anything.

6 out of the last 11 last year? That's loads, how many has doyle started since his las goal?

And how many of those starts have seen Doyle playing on the right hand side of midfield? If it's just as important to highlight the stop/start nature of Lita's season then it is also important to note that Doyle has played a decent amount of games in midfield and not as a striker. Could have just as big an effect.

Has Doyle been on the right wing in many of the last TWELVE games?

[Huntley & Palmer]

Hmm, what is the maximum time a loan player can go out for at this stage of a season? Charlton fans seem to think it's for an initial month with a view to then taking him on until the end of the season so he would be available for the playoffs

Sort of answered the question myself,

Emergency loans can be taken out at any time between Friday 8 February and 5pm on March 27, 2008 and can only be used by Football League clubs loaning players in from other clubs in England, including those from the Premier League. International switches are not allowed including Scotland and Ireland.

Players can be signed for a maximum period of 93 days on such loans.

Players on emergency loan can be recalled by their own clubs after 28 days have expired, but not before.

Only five loan players (whether standard or emergency) can be named on the team sheet for any one game and no more than four players can be loaned from one club to another in any one season.

Emergency loan signings can be made up to three hours before a league game.

So we can't recall him in the first 28 days

[Schards#2]

Someone said Long is still unproven, i'm sorry, he is. He's proven time and time again that he is nowhere near good enough for The Premiership.

His only use is to come on late when everyone else is knackered and run around like a headless chicken in the hope that something breaks his way. In the games he's started he has never looked like shooting let alone scoring.

Having him higher in the pecking order than Lita and Cox is a joke.

Removing both Lita and Cox from the pecking order altogether is simply unbelievable. Particulary in a team where a forward hasn't scored, and the team as a whole haven't scored in the first 90 minutes, this year - it's March FFS

[Alan Partridge]

Someone said Long is still unproven, i'm sorry, he is. He's proven time and time again that he is nowhere near good enough for The Premiership.

His only use is to come on late when everyone else is knackered and run around like a headless chicken in the hope that something breaks his way. In the games he's started he has never looked like shooting let alone scoring.

Having him higher in the pecking order than Lita and Cox is a joke.

Removing both Lita and Cox from the pecking order altogether is simply unbelievable. Particulary in a team where a forward hasn't scored, and the team as a whole haven't scored in the first 90 minutes, this year - it's March FFS

Agreed. I've been impressed with Long when he gets on for 15mins or so, he looks pacey lively and a threat. Start him and he is absolute rubbish.

[Tilehurst Mike]

Ridiculas, can't understand it.

Yes he's been a silly boy a number of times, but he is a dam good striker and he is probably the inform striker here at the moment for what he's doing in the res'.

So we now rely on Shane Long, who to date has not proven good enough at this level.

Great!

This is the sort of decision that if you get relegated really bites you in the arse. One of a number of strange decisions this season.

Maybe the Madman panicked after the surprise win at Boro? He was really looking forward to receiving those parachute payments in The Championship and not having to proceed with the Stadium expansion. Now when it looks like the club might be back on track to survive in the Premiership, lets let Leroy go out on loan to sabotage this survival attempt!!

Seriously, a bizarre and seemingly stupid decision at this stage of the season, particularly when the other strikers have been firing blanks!

[Royal Rother]

Often removing a bad apple is the best way of preserving the excellence of the rest of the crop.

[Royal Rother]

LOL at those who believe they know better than Coppell, the man who has to work with the players every day.

[Maguire]

Only just discovered this news, not being one to read this board much.

LOL, basically.

[Platypuss]

Lita last scored on the 28th August, against Swansea in the League Cup.

in the league?

Febuary 3rd 2007.

Man City away.

Speaks volumes.

Yes, they were rather good goals, weren't they?

[Archie's penalty]

Yes, they were rather good goals, weren't they?

Indeed they were. Unfortunately over 13 months ago!

[RG30]

No great loss at this moment in time, hasn't done the business since the Under 21 tournament and his off the field antics have done him no favours. If he starts scoring at Charlton then it's a different matter but at least he'll have real football under his belt, not mickey mouse reserve team football Reading fans seem to love.

[Platypuss]

Often removing a bad apple is the best way of preserving the excellence of the rest of the crop.

Indeed. But doing it outside the Prem transfer window is probably not the time to do it though.