Season 20/21

[Lower West]

Football has changed. Managers have to win games. That's the bottom line. Not afforded the time to develop a team over a longer time frame. Though the clubs that have had settled management teams and internal structures historically go on to be successful over an extended period of time. With Covid hitting finances. Clubs maybe forced to rely more on home grown talent again. Bloated first team playing squads are unsustainable. As offloading the unwanted can prove an enormous challenge as Reading have found.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

aww how sweet

We (even Ian) are all decent chaps in real life

Back in the day, we’d all all find an excuse to meet-up....a football match against ‘the Burbs’ ...a party in the park. party after Peterborough, cricket, bbq...even bloody golf.

Time and tide waits for no-one, the whole HNA thing has become a way of venting eachothers spleen to eachother....a shame, but with so many ex and decent posters having already checked-out forever...we are just left with us bickering pcnuts

It’s just a game

Still a good forum but RIP what hobnob was years ago. Why did the good folk from years ago leave

[AthleticoSpizz]

Saddoes just intent on picking on the weak.

[Simmops]

aww how sweet

We (even Ian) are all decent chaps in real life

Back in the day, we’d all all find an excuse to meet-up....a football match against ‘the Burbs’ ...a party in the park. party after Peterborough, cricket, bbq...even bloody golf.

Time and tide waits for no-one, the whole HNA thing has become a way of venting eachothers spleen to eachother....a shame, but with so many ex and decent posters having already checked-out forever...we are just left with us bickering pcnuts

It’s just a game

Still a good forum but RIP what hobnob was years ago. Why did the good folk from years ago leave

When they banned double d, is when this place started going downhill. He was a proper sound geezer.

[AthleticoSpizz]

When the likes of 2-0, Skyline, Woodcote and Mr Angry stopped posting, it sent out the warning signs...we would be left with a few posters with many names yet more personas

These days it’s just all becoming bit of a one-up bitchfest.

Just my humblest of opinions of course...but the fun has long since gone.

[JR]

Footballer’s careers are extremely fragile. Surely Reading fans shouldn’t need to be reminded of that? Think about Nicky Shorey going from playing central midfield for Orient reserves to playing left back for England. There is a very large element of luck in every career.

I was a very early advocate for Michael Hector at a time when this board was excited about Jack Mills. Things lined up right for Hector, but they very nearly didn’t. And then that weird Chelsea move happened and ironically probably set him back. And then you look at Mills’ non-career. And then Carl McHugh’s bumpy ride. And then Angus MacDonald’s...

If Howe had stuck around he would have played the games Osho did last season and probably done better. He then would either have played ahead of Araruna under Paunović or would be ready to play tomorrow.

If Antonio had stuck with us then he’d have almost certainly wasted another year of his career as fifth choice - he still isn’t as good as Kebe and McAnuff and he certainly wasn’t then. Same as Simon Cox. Football is about opportunities, and they’re very hard to predict.

One final example... Mourinho confidently predicted that Dominic Solanke, Izzy Brown and Lewis Baker would be England internationals. Solanke has one (unmerited) cap. Meanwhile five of Baker and Brown’s Chelsea academy contemporaries have received England caps before them.

Tl;dr: people should be less confident in their predictions.

Bold call to say Kebe and McAnuff better than Antonio. As much as I love those two, he is ripping
up the Premier League far more than Jobi and Jimmy never did.

[JR]

Kebe is good, but better than Antonio, get away with you

Yeah, if you were to offer me prime Kebe or Antonio now, I'd certainly be going for the West Ham man.

I don't really follow the PL, is Antonio still pulling up trees? I thought I'd seen a suggestion he wasn't really doing the business any more.

In any case, it would be hard to justify saying prime Kebe is an easy pick over prime Antonio, same for McAnuff. Though Reading Antonio wouldn't have got a look in for us in the PL.

All a bit my Dad's bigger than your dad and irrelevant to the topic at hand really

Back in July when West Sham were in relegation trouble he scored 4 in a game. Bossed the game on Monday when West Sham put 4 past Wolves.

Very much pulling up trees.

[paultheroyal]

Yeah, if you were to offer me prime Kebe or Antonio now, I'd certainly be going for the West Ham man.

I don't really follow the PL, is Antonio still pulling up trees? I thought I'd seen a suggestion he wasn't really doing the business any more.

In any case, it would be hard to justify saying prime Kebe is an easy pick over prime Antonio, same for McAnuff. Though Reading Antonio wouldn't have got a look in for us in the PL.

All a bit my Dad's bigger than your dad and irrelevant to the topic at hand really

Back in July when West Sham were in relegation trouble he scored 4 in a game. Bossed the game on Monday when West Sham put 4 past Wolves.

Very much pulling up trees.

But Kebe is better.

[Zip]

When the likes of 2-0, Skyline, Woodcote and Mr Angry stopped posting, it sent out the warning signs...we would be left with a few posters with many names yet more personas

These days it’s just all becoming bit of a one-up bitchfest.

Just my humblest of opinions of course...but the fun has long since gone.

It’s always been a bitchfest. I thought it was worse on here a decade or so ago. Seems less aggressive these days but also less creative.

[tidus_mi2]

You know when this place probably started going downhill? When the club did, we have had nothing positive to sing about in recent years so the negativity just spills out onto here.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Fair point

[SCIAG]

When we got relegated under Coppell there was the infamous RTG/STG split which seemed more important than the small number of trolls.

Now we have fewer active users and a couple of hyperactive trolls who take up more of the oxygen than their historical equivalents used to. People used to be too busy disagreeing with Floyd or Schards to worry about Kes.

[Snowflake Royal]

Destined for Midtable mediocrity without a sea change!

Oh, we were PO finalists and then won the league.

[JR]

I don't really follow the PL, is Antonio still pulling up trees? I thought I'd seen a suggestion he wasn't really doing the business any more.

In any case, it would be hard to justify saying prime Kebe is an easy pick over prime Antonio, same for McAnuff. Though Reading Antonio wouldn't have got a look in for us in the PL.

All a bit my Dad's bigger than your dad and irrelevant to the topic at hand really

Back in July when West Sham were in relegation trouble he scored 4 in a game. Bossed the game on Monday when West Sham put 4 past Wolves.

Very much pulling up trees.

But Kebe is better.

Well yes, aside from Ronaldo and Messi, he is the greatest player this century.

Who else makes time to pull his socks up on the ball?

[Sutekh]

2017/18 - 11 games to get 12 points
2018/19 - 13 games to get 12 points
2019/20 - 13 games to get 12 points
2020/21 - 4 games to get 12 points

[Snowflake Royal]

2017/18 - 11 games to get 12 points
2018/19 - 13 games to get 12 points
2019/20 - 13 games to get 12 points
2020/21 - 4 games to get 12 points

2005/06 - 6 games to get 13 points

I don't think we won 4 in a row in 2005/06 until we went on that insane 10 game winning streak in November and December. In fact I think that was the only time?

[Sutekh]

For the record, the following players’ contracts are up in June 2021

Keepers

Jokull Andresson
Luke Southwood
Sam Walker

Defenders

Nelson Abbey
Ethan Bristow
Tom McIntyre
Michael Morrison
Omar Richards
Tennai Watson

Midfield

Sone Aluko
Ryan East

Forwards

Sam Baldock
Sam Smith

Of the above Richards, McIntyre and Southwood are the absolute priorities to get to re-sign, hope the club are already working on it.

[CountryRoyal]

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but if Aluko plays like he did yesterday every game then we have to look into something about that... something drastically reduced and very much a performance incentive based contract - which he probably wouldn’t accept but then whatevz.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but if Aluko plays like he did yesterday every game then we have to look into something about that... something drastically reduced and very much a performance incentive based contract - which he probably wouldn’t accept but then whatevz.

He's a big earner and will be 32 next summer (I think). I'll be delighted if we can get a big season out of him, but don't see us renewing whatever happens.

[CountryRoyal]

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but if Aluko plays like he did yesterday every game then we have to look into something about that... something drastically reduced and very much a performance incentive based contract - which he probably wouldn’t accept but then whatevz.

He's a big earner and will be 32 next summer (I think). I'll be delighted if we can get a big season out of him, but don't see us renewing whatever happens.

He’s 32?? Didn’t think he was that old tbf