Who is the weakest link?

[Franchise FC]

I prefer cricket anyway.. Coppel out.

What was it ? caught, bowled, run out ? How many did he score ? Who's next in ? (Paul Ince ?)

[Great Knolly]

This is an excellent WUM thread, as even though I know it's firmly tongue in cheek, it manages to seriously incense me anyhow. It's such a load of rubbish.

My tongue is so firmly in my cheeck that my jaw's aching.

Why so incensed ? This is aimed at the doom and gloom merchants who are trying to stop the rest of us simply enjoying what we've got.

Got it in one. Enjoy it. We are 2nd in a division we could only dream about 20 years ago.
We have players in the team who most league fans would love to watch every week.

The trouble is, with the amount of "interaction" available to fans now, some actually think thay are having an influence on what happens and continually act as if they are pseudo managers of the club. We are not a top 6 prem team. Our players have flaws. We should be supporting and following their progress.
I'm more bothered ( but not very ) about SHunt selling himself on Sky, than I am about Kebe occasionally losing the ball when he's trying to do something amazing, or Marcus making the wrong split second decision about coming for a cross. These are our players. If Forster could finish like Owen, or Little could run like Gilkes, they would never have been Reading players.

I can't be objective. But if I try to be, I still can't think of any club I'd rather have been following ever since Pardew took over. Enjoy it while it lasts, cos when Coppell goes, all bets are off.

[who are ya?]

By the way what's so wrong with Wayne W a n k l y n ?

He's my mates uncle. Fact.

[Franchise FC]

By the way what's so wrong with Wayne W a n k l y n ?

He's my mates uncle. Fact.

Is your mate a monkey ?

[who are ya?]

No, he's from a breed they call 'QPR fans'

[Einstein agogo]

bring back sammy igoe , he scored on saturday you know... glen little isn't fit to polish his shoes

[Franchise FC]

bring back sammy igoe , he scored on saturday you know... glen little isn't fit to polish his shoes

You've just misunderstood - Glen Little just isn't fit !!

[Dirk Gently]

Following on from the "is this squad good enough" thread, and all the speculation on who we should buy, let's trun the question round. Who are the weak links, who is underperforming and needs replacing - not with squad players but with regular first-team starters.

Inevitably this will turn into a thread where everyone unleashes all their dislikes and prejudices (the Harper-haters, the Kebe-haters and the Leroy-haters will all have a field day!) - but objectively, which players should we replace with new blood in order to improve the team as a whole?

Personally, I can't think of anyone I'd particularly want to see replaced or who stands out as being a weak link.

[S09Royal]

The Reading fans at the matches?



I think the whole team has potential to improve and they will. I don't think any current player is a weak link although i didn't fail to notice that Harper kept giving the ball away last night but then he made a good pass to Leroy for our 4th goal, so i really couldn't single any one out. Our best player by a mile or two is Mr Doyle. (IMO)

[test icicles]

I don't really think that many people need to be replaced. It's more a case of strengthening so we have more depth. But I geuss I come under the "Harper-haters" catagory but I just think he sits way to deep and is basically a fifth defender. That then leads to the oppositions centre mids running at our defence and causing havoc. He either needs to stop dropping so deep, or be swapped for someone who is more likely to stand their ground in the midfield rather than fall back. I suppose it could well be the instructions from the bench that are making him drop back, and if so then their mentality will have to change.

[londinium]

I don't really think that many people need to be replaced. It's more a case of strengthening so we have more depth. But I geuss I come under the "Harper-haters" catagory but I just think he sits way to deep and is basically a fifth defender. That then leads to the oppositions centre mids running at our defence and causing havoc. He either needs to stop dropping so deep, or be swapped for someone who is more likely to stand their ground in the midfield rather than fall back. I suppose it could well be the instructions from the bench that are making him drop back, and if so then their mentality will have to change.

And where does Cisse fit into all of this?

(from a non Harper hater)

[SLAMMED]

Weakest link im not too sure of. But strongest link is Kevin Doyle by a mile. BOth goalkeepers have had good seasons so far as well.

[SCIAG]

I was going to bring this up, well done on saving me time.

At present, our squad is fine, however, we may need to strengthen a lot upon promotion.

Fedders and Marcus are both good enough for the PL.

Rosenior is perfectly fine.

Bikey will need a partner, because neither Doobs or Ivar are good enough for the Premier League over a season. Ivar is one of my favourite players and I like Doobs, but we'll need someone like Mensah in to make the defence strong enough.

Armstrong is the best we can hope for in the Championship, but not really good enough in the top flight. He's the 'weak' point in the first team, but that's not through any fault of his own, it's because I just think the others are all stronger.Repeat: that isn't a criticism of Armstrong.

Will Kebe be as effective agaist better defenders? I doubt it, though he'll be a great impact sub. Therefore, either Henry needs to come on and not be fazed in the headlights, or we need a new right winger.

The central midfield is strong, but there are doubts about Cisse's passing and decision rating. We may need a new DM.

Hunt isn't technically very good, but he's workmanlike, which can go further than a talented winger for a promoted side.

We need a tall, strong striker who can compete with big centre backs. Noel and Doyle are both good in the air, but I don't think they'd be much use against Distin or Woodgate. Another smaller striker would allow Noel to be the workmanlike right winger we may require.

So, a centre back, a left back, a right winger, and a tall striker will all be needed upon promotion, possibly along with a left winger, a defensive midfielder and a faster striker. Hopefully they can be eased into the first team one by one to eliminate certain problems.

[.:BigDaveInTheDungeon:.]

you are the weakest link, goodbye.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

I don't really think that many people need to be replaced. It's more a case of strengthening so we have more depth. But I geuss I come under the "Harper-haters" catagory but I just think he sits way to deep and is basically a fifth defender. That then leads to the oppositions centre mids running at our defence and causing havoc. He either needs to stop dropping so deep, or be swapped for someone who is more likely to stand their ground in the midfield rather than fall back. I suppose it could well be the instructions from the bench that are making him drop back, and if so then their mentality will have to change.

Of course it's instructions from the bench. We nearly always play against 4-5-1 nowadays and defending deep as two banks of 4 denies the opposition 5 any space to run into. It means they have loads of possession (60%/40% for Watford last night) but have to play in front of us which is not going to cause us any problems. Only Southampton have caused us any issues. They did so because the two wide players pushed into advanced areas and the central 3 passed the ball exceptionally well.
Harper is a very good exponent of the modern day CM role and Cisse is developing very nicely at the same time. They are becoming a very good partnership.

[BarryWhiteRFC]

I was going to bring this up, well done on saving me time.

At present, our squad is fine, however, we may need to strengthen a lot upon promotion.

Fedders and Marcus are both good enough for the PL.

Rosenior is perfectly fine.

Bikey will need a partner, because neither Doobs or Ivar are good enough for the Premier League over a season. Ivar is one of my favourite players and I like Doobs, but we'll need someone like Mensah in to make the defence strong enough.

Armstrong is the best we can hope for in the Championship, but not really good enough in the top flight. He's the 'weak' point in the first team, but that's not through any fault of his own, it's because I just think the others are all stronger.Repeat: that isn't a criticism of Armstrong.

Will Kebe be as effective agaist better defenders? I doubt it, though he'll be a great impact sub. Therefore, either Henry needs to come on and not be fazed in the headlights, or we need a new right winger.

The central midfield is strong, but there are doubts about Cisse's passing and decision rating. We may need a new DM.

Hunt isn't technically very good, but he's workmanlike, which can go further than a talented winger for a promoted side.

We need a tall, strong striker who can compete with big centre backs. Noel and Doyle are both good in the air, but I don't think they'd be much use against Distin or Woodgate. Another smaller striker would allow Noel to be the workmanlike right winger we may require.

So, a centre back, a left back, a right winger, and a tall striker will all be needed upon promotion, possibly along with a left winger, a defensive midfielder and a faster striker. Hopefully they can be eased into the first team one by one to eliminate certain problems.

At the start of the season I hated Cisse, thought he was rubbish and a waste of space in our squad. He has proved me very wrong and I now think he is by far our most effective midfielder. This is the one player, on this form, will be fine in the PL. Last night, a lot of people said he was poor, but I thought he broke down a lot of play, got is some dagerous possitions and caused Watford many problems whether they had possession or didn't. The neutral friends I watched it with also comented on this.

Also my friends were impressed by some of Kebe's touches, his control when A Fed launched the ball to him was imense! Especially on that surface! He did make a few errors though, I think he could hack it at the top level though if he keeps improving the way he has.

[Turns8]

I think the main thing with this current squad which stands out is that we don't have any BIG name fancy-dans, every player seems to be fairly grounded and wants to wear the shirt. There are no massive egos which affect the spirit amongst the squad, or when there is disruption it is dealt with with the minimal amount of fuss by Coppell and his staff.

We are playing as a team, working for each other, once again we have a very solid unit...just like the promotion season. You look at how Wolves and Brum are panic buying in loads of mis-fit players in an attempt to reach the Premiership, whereas we seem content with what we have because as a 'team' we are fairly strong, ok individual skill levels we may not be good enough for the Premiership...but we aren't there yet and who knows what will happen in the summer...

I'd much rather we have a good team spirit than having 3 or 4 real BIG name players who only play well when they feel like it....

[Old Biscuitman]

I think the main thing with this current squad which stands out is that we don't have any BIG name fancy-dans, every player seems to be fairly grounded and wants to wear the shirt. There are no massive egos which affect the spirit amongst the squad, or when there is disruption it is dealt with with the minimal amount of fuss by Coppell and his staff.

We are playing as a team, working for each other, once again we have a very solid unit...just like the promotion season. You look at how Wolves and Brum are panic buying in loads of mis-fit players in an attempt to reach the Premiership, whereas we seem content with what we have because as a 'team' we are fairly strong, ok individual skill levels we may not be good enough for the Premiership...but we aren't there yet and who knows what will happen in the summer...

I'd much rather we have a good team spirit than having 3 or 4 real BIG name players who only play well when they feel like it....

Totally agree. For that reason any January signings should be made with particular care. We do appear to have rediscovered the team spirit from 05/06. Summer signings, if we are promoted, will be a different matter.

[Ian Royal]

The Keepers are ok. The full backs are ok. Central defence is a problem area, but if we keep Bikey we should be ok. Although I'd like to see a new centreback in the summer and Ivar to move on.

Midfield. we need a central midfielder, or to change our system. Possibly both. A winger is essential. Kebe, if he improves a lot, may be good enough, he's certainly ok to be back up. But we need more consistant quality.

We desperately need another striker or two. Lita, don't rate him, long, nowhere near good enough. NHunt, IMO a good option for the bench in the prem, but not good enough to start regularly.

[Royal Rother]

At the start of the season I felt that Cisse and Kebe were not going to make it - despite some good performances these are still the ones who cause me most frustration.

Doyle and NHunt are fine up front but we cannot rely on Long and Lita to adequately fill their shoes in the event of injury.

However, I believe we have a very good balance of youth and experience in the squad - you can't have too many players all with a virtually equal shout for 1st team football unless you believe in constant squad rotation which Coppell certainly doesn't.