Reading FC and the transfer window

[From Despair To Where?]

If you look at the league table after say 10 games have gone - it is more or less set on stone.

I could be wrong but wasn't there a Berkshire based side who didn't get a gr8 start to the season fairly recently yet managed to make the plays offs after a gr8 l8 run

Last season we were actually 7th after 10 games. August was very poor (for the reasons outlined) but we did recover in September.

Would this be the same Championship which is described as "the most competitive league in the Europe" where "any one can beat anyone else" and where season after season, teams appear from nowhere to challenge for promotion.

I gave up after your opening gambit so I can only assume that the rest of the post was a mere facimile of what you've posted a couple of thousand times over the past month or so.

[Sarah Star]

I don't get this "why can't RFC be more proactive rather than reactive in the transfer market and do their business earlier" argument (quoting no-one in particular).

We signed Leigertwood very early on and there were hints that Joseph Mills was in talks with us as early as June. Who knows what else was in the pipeline at that stage.

[Arch]

He's been a target of mine since the summer when we knew there was a chance Mills would go.

Seems pretty proactive to me.

[comeonyouroyals]

Well the Fact we signed Manset and Morrision in January so they were ready for this season says to me we were very proactive. Add to that last summer we signed Marcus Williams right at the start of the transfer window.
The other reason is that we always have tried to give players already under contract with us the chance to step up to the plate before we sign someone new and untill you have played a few games how do you know how they will do.

[SCIAG]

After the failure to get promoted in 2008/9 - summer 09 saw Brendan arrive and immediately have to dispose of 9 of the first 11 of the previous season. He was tasked with a complete rebuild. We were particularly vulnerable in defence as we lost Murty, Duberry and Bikey as well as several back up defenders. It was a big job and he failed as he was not given the time. Brian came in and saved the day.

We didn't dispose of 9 of the first 11. We disposed of Marcus, Bikey, Rosenior, Harper, Hunt and Doyle, or six of the first 11. We didn't lose Rosenior or Harper until the last day or so. We signed Bertrand to bridge the gap before Armstrong's anticipated return with plenty of time to spare.

You would have thought we had learned, but by summer 20110 we had rebuilt the team around Sigurdsson. Presumably the club knew that he was off but no money was invested in advance. We had also lost Khizanishvili, Bertrand and Rosenior that summer and so we started with a shaky defense once again - which was only bolstered at the last minute by the additions of Harte and the re-signing of Khizanishvili.

You can't say we'd lost Rosenior, he hadn't played for us for a year, and in any case we'd already signed Griffin. We'd signed Williams to replace Bertrand.

Summer 2011 and exactly the same story. We knew Mills was off very early in the window. We had also lost Ingimarsson and Khizanishvili at the end of the season and Armstrong during the season. Presumably we must have known that Long would leave - so you would have thought money would have been made available early in the window to address the problems in defence on the basis that income would be received. Now for the third season running we are reliant in finding at least one and preferably two experienced defenders at the last minute.

Mills and Long were replaced proactively (Morrison and Manset) and Armstrong had also effectively been replaced what with playing left back for one game in two years, and we tried to bring in various defenders (Joseph Mills, Sonko, Khumalo, Gorkks) early in the window. I agree that it would have been nice to secure Gorkks earlier, but this was probably held up by the Gabbidon transfer, for example. Sonko wanted too much and is awful now anyway.

We were proactive in 07/08, agreeing deals for Bikey and Cisse before the transfer window had even officially opened. Look how that did.

[Ian Royal]

We signed Khumalo in plenty of time for the start of the season to replace Mills.

Looks like we actually were after Robinson from Millwall (presumably to cover the Khiz hole) and had been working on making that happen for a while, then when it became apparent that Millwall's valuation was well above ours and it wasn't going to happen, we switched to our next target and signed Gorkss within about a week. Perhaps because it was obvious Khumalo was turning out to be shit, at least short-term.

Not sure why it took so long to bring in Mills, it's obvious we don't think Williams is up to it (yet) and Harte is on the wain, so we needed a new left back with a bit of pace.

People saying we should have signed someone in anticipation of Long going, that's all well and good in hindsight with him actually going, but we've seen with Doyle, Hunt (08/09) and Federici at least in recent years, as players we expected to be sold in all probability, who didn't actually go. That's why we don't spend in anticipation of income, because if you don't get it, which is a small possibility, you could be in the shit, having spent money you don't have, and paying out wages you haven't freed up.

[SpaceCruiser]

Dear andrew1957

Please give it a rest or fook off. I got through the first paragraph and gave up as I could see where it was going.

Yes we know it is frustrating, but that is where we are. Deal with it.

I agree with this. The moment I first started reading the first sentence I thought, what the fookzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[shaka's shorts]

Jonny F tweets that RFC still looking to sign one more, poss striker...more in paper tomorrow

[andrew1957]

Interesting article by Jonny Fordham in EP

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... c_backbone

Looks like we could still lose Jimmy Kebe if anyone comes in - perhaps he is keeping his options open to see if anyone does (as according to the article there have been no offers yet). QPR could still come in at the last minute with their new found riches - as Colin has reputedly been an admirer for some time. Could be why he was so nice about us.

Apart from that I suspect if anyone made offers for M. Williams, Antonio or Howard we would let them go. Cannot see anyone else leaving.

You have to wonder about the whole system though. If we are going to have transfer windows it would be so much better if it ended 31st July and then all this disruption would have ended before the season started.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Or more to the point, why doesnt the season start 2 or 3 weeks later?

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Interesting article by Jonny Fordham in EP

Stopping reading here

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

http://www.footballforums.net/forums/sh ... dre-Gone...

apparently we've signed Adam Le Fondre from Rotherham for £350,000. Nothing on either official site though, so it could be rubbish.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Have a look on the thread in UR&G - deal to be ratified tomorrow apparently.

[dogzbollox]

9 fukking paragraphs, are you serious? I'm obviously not reading all that, but can I assume it's stuff that's already been covered on countless other threads?

Stop making excuses.........you can't read it's nothing to be ashamed of.....there are thousands of us about

[dogzbollox]

Have a look on the thread in UR&G - deal to be ratified tomorrow apparently.

Here as well ..........

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... um=twitter

[Yahoops]

All but signed

http://www.southyorkshiretimes.co.uk/sp ... _1_3720595

[alderdude]

If Alf signs then i will be very happy and for me, if everything stays the same i think we'll have a stronger looking squad than we did at the end of the transfer window last season obviously this was before long started scoring and i still thought we would reach the play-offs then so now we gotta be looking at auto promotion (probs a bit of an over-exageration but you never know) he's a natural goal-scorer and i think he will do very well at this level. can't wait to see him in action (assuming he signs and we don't have another Tommy Smith situation on our hands) very happy about this

P.S can people stop having a go at Madejski now please! as i think we've done pretty well in this transfer window now.

[alderdude]

If Alf signs then i will be very happy and for me, if everything stays the same i think we'll have a stronger looking squad than we did at the end of the transfer window last season obviously this was before long started scoring and i still thought we would reach the play-offs then so now we gotta be looking at auto promotion (probs a bit of an over-exageration but you never know) he's a natural goal-scorer and i think he will do very well at this level. can't wait to see him in action (assuming he signs and we don't have another Tommy Smith situation on our hands) very happy about this

P.S can people stop having a go at Madejski now please! as i think we've done pretty well in this transfer window now.

just after i typed this clicked on facebook and see he has offically signed!

[SCIAG]

Interesting article by Jonny Fordham in EP

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... c_backbone

He seems to think Shane Long is a plant.

[brendywendy]

what do you reckon on our transfer activity then?

IN.

leigertwood
khumalo
mills
gorkssssss
le fondre

out

long
mills

all key problem areas adressed, and all decent, if not world shaking signings.and a large profit made.

incidentally when was the last window we failed to buy anyone in?