Reading FC and the transfer window

[andrew1957]

The Championship is a division where you really need to start well. If you look at the league table after say 10 games have gone - it is more or less set on stone. Seldom does a team in the bottom half at that point get promoted and equally it is extremely rate for a team in the top half after 10 games to get relegated. So it really is vital to start well in this division, as it can become a grind if you do not. The most important thing is to start the season with a strong defence. Successful teams in the Championship almost always have a strong defence.

What frustrates me so much is that there seems to be little planning at RFC to prepare for the season ahead. This is the third season that we have started in relative chaos – particularly at the back.

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.

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.

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.

Other clubs seem to manage to do business earlier in the season. This allows time for players to bed in and get to know their team mates. In contrast we go into the season unprepared, without sufficient defensive cover and make a bad start. This will be the third season in a row that we are reliant on last minute buys to save our season.

This simply smacks of bad planning from the top. I am sure that Brian would want to strengthen earlier in the window, so one can only assume that the club policy is not to buy until you have sold - but this seems silly to me when you are all but 100% sure that players are going.

In this window the Mills money was a windfall in any case. The club said that they wanted him to stay and were prepared to up his wages, so if he had not gone we would not have received the 4.5M in any case - so I cannot see why selling Long had to occur before a replacement was found. If we were that desperate for cash, then what on earth would we have done if Mills had decided to stay?

Now for the third season running we are reliant on Brian waving his magic wand and saving our season again. I have great faith that he will do it - but you have to wonder what will happen if a bigger club asks him to join them. You could not blame him at all if he jumped ship.

[muddyfeet]

The Championship is a division where you really need to start well. .

stopped reading after this

[mr_number]

The

Stopped reading after this.

[Vision]

The Championship is a division where you really need to start well. If you look at the league table after say 10 games have gone - it is more or less set on stone. Seldom does a team in the bottom half at that point get promoted and equally it is extremely rate for a team in the top half after 10 games to get relegated. So it really is vital to start well in this division, as it can become a grind if you do not. The most important thing is to start the season with a strong defence. Successful teams in the Championship almost always have a strong defence.

What frustrates me so much is that there seems to be little planning at RFC to prepare for the season ahead. This is the third season that we have started in relative chaos – particularly at the back.

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.

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.

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.

Other clubs seem to manage to do business earlier in the season. This allows time for players to bed in and get to know their team mates. In contrast we go into the season unprepared, without sufficient defensive cover and make a bad start. This will be the third season in a row that we are reliant on last minute buys to save our season.

This simply smacks of bad planning from the top. I am sure that Brian would want to strengthen earlier in the window, so one can only assume that the club policy is not to buy until you have sold - but this seems silly to me when you are all but 100% sure that players are going.

In this window the Mills money was a windfall in any case. The club said that they wanted him to stay and were prepared to up his wages, so if he had not gone we would not have received the 4.5M in any case - so I cannot see why selling Long had to occur before a replacement was found. If we were that desperate for cash, then what on earth would we have done if Mills had decided to stay?

Now for the third season running we are reliant on Brian waving his magic wand and saving our season again. I have great faith that he will do it - but you have to wonder what will happen if a bigger club asks him to join them. You could not blame him at all if he jumped ship.

We've got off to a poor start as you point out in the last 3 seasons yet in two of them we've still reached the play offs so I'm not sure its as vital as you make out.

Theres merit in your basic point though. Is our re-active approach in the summer transfer window a reason behind why we seem to start the season so poorly. It was always considered a given that you wanted to bed new signings in pre-season yet because we cant/won't buy before we sell (and we hang on as long as possible for the best possible price) that really isnt possible. Not sure what the answer is other than the age old argument of whether we should gamble spending money against possible future income which isn't something we're prepared to do.

[southbank1871]

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?

[muddyfeet]

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?

basically yes, but with the point that teams need to start the season well to be successful

doesnt really tally to our last two season starts

[Red]

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

[Focher]

Derby are a classic example of how important it is to start well in recent seasons

[andrew1957]

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.

[southbank1871]

I'd give up if I was you Andy.

[Red]

Fair play.

If the premise of the 7 paragraphs in the OP is that teams that start the season well have a higher chance of ending the season well then I guess we're broadly on the same page.

[RobRoyal]

The Championship is a division where you really need to start well. .

stopped reading after this

The

Stopped reading after this.

by andrew1957

In future stop reading after this.

[Big Ern]

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.

[Finch]

Madejski is a disgrace - he's worth £400m or so, surely he can spare a couple of hundred to make us competative in the Premier League. If I was that rich I would for sure.

[Ian Royal]

Madejski is a disgrace - he's worth £400m or so, surely he can spare a couple of hundred to make us competative in the Premier League. If I was that rich I would for sure.

Madejski has never been worth £400m, he got up to about £350m before the recession and is now at about £200m.

[muddyfeet]

can a mod please merge all these threads which effectively say the same thing in the end

[Finch]

Madejski is a disgrace - he's worth £400m or so, surely he can spare a couple of hundred to make us competative in the Premier League. If I was that rich I would for sure.

Madejski has never been worth £400m, he got up to about £350m before the recession and is now at about £200m.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d764a9e6-0dab ... z1VwZu9LHT

Ian, you're like a rat, give it up. Your petulence is pathetic.

[Arnie_Pie]

Another poorly thought out thread from andrew1957.

Seriously, just stop it.

[ZacNaloen]

Madejski is a disgrace - he's worth £400m or so, surely he can spare a couple of hundred to make us competative in the Premier League. If I was that rich I would for sure.

Madejski has never been worth £400m, he got up to about £350m before the recession and is now at about £200m.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d764a9e6-0dab ... z1VwZu9LHT

Ian, you're like a rat, give it up. Your petulence is pathetic.

2008?

[Finch]

Madejski has never been worth £400m, he got up to about £350m before the recession and is now at about £200m.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d764a9e6-0dab ... z1VwZu9LHT

Ian, you're like a rat, give it up. Your petulence is pathetic.

2008?