Next season

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Assuming we stay up next season a lot of big clubs coming up Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth , Ipswich not like this season Blackpool , Rotherham , Wigan
We will be odds on relegation without major changes !

We are probably going to be somewhere down the bottom of the list again anyway, whether that means Sheff Wednesday, Derby and Ipswich coming up or whether it's Plymouth, Barnsley and Wycombe.

At least one of Blackpool, Rotherham, Wigan or Huddersfield is staying up and will probably be one of the favourites next season, undoubtedly a newly-promoted side will be down the list somewhere I imagine, then after that you are looking at us, Birmingham, Bristol City, Cardiff and Stoke that will be towards the bottom end of the list (assuming they all stay in the division this year).

[blythspartan]

I like Ince and if we stay up this season it’s job done. Also, I believe he’s been instrumental in getting the infrastructure at the club changed for the better. I get the feeling he’ll call it a day at the end of the season and go back into retirement.

For me, next season is the crucial one as we lose a large part of the squad and we can start signing players we want rather than players who no one else wants. The rebuild could go horribly wrong like it did for Ipswich a few years ago but I am looking forward to seeing which players we sign.

I am not sure who I want as manager if Ince does leave. I thought Nathan Jones did a good job at Luton but he’s not done too well anywhere else. If he wanted it I’d give Lampard a chance as I thought he he did well bringing the youngsters through at Chelsea. Whoever is the manager I am hoping to start enjoying watching the games again and seeing lots of goals scored in our favour.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I like Ince and if we stay up this season it’s job done. Also, I believe he’s been instrumental in getting the infrastructure at the club changed for the better. I get the feeling he’ll call it a day at the end of the season and go back into retirement.

For me, next season is the crucial one as we lose a large part of the squad and we can start signing players we want rather than players who no one else wants. The rebuild could go horribly wrong like it did for Ipswich a few years ago but I am looking forward to seeing which players we sign.

I am not sure who I want as manager if Ince does leave. I thought Nathan Jones did a good job at Luton but he’s not done too well anywhere else. If he wanted it I’d give Lampard a chance as I thought he he did well bringing the youngsters through at Chelsea. Whoever is the manager I am hoping to start enjoying watching the games again and seeing lots of goals scored in our favour.

I'm not sure he would call it a day at the end of the season because he's now got the opportunity, for another 12 months according to his contract, to begin building something rather than firefighting.

I still think he's the right man for this job we've got now and I don't think that will change unless our Championship status comes under serious threat. At the end of the day, we were predicted to be 23rd so it could have been a lot, lot worse than it has been now.

What I do like about Ince is his honesty and he's been very quick and consistent when pointing out where we need to improve, that's why I think he's the best for next season as well, at least during the summer. I'm sure he's aware that we are poor away, we don't carry much of a threat, we don't have that many technical players etc and, based on what he's done with the club so far, I reckon he'd go and get the players he'd want to improve on those areas for next season as he had identified them before, but might not have had the resource always to change it, he hasn't had that sort of flexibility this season, whereas hopefully from the summer onwards, he will.

There are still a lot of questions to answer though of course.

[Royalcop]

Does anyone know what the picture looks like for us if the transfer embargo is lifted? What can we realistically start spending in the summer window?

Ince has done a better job than I expected him to, but I don’t see him as someone who is going to build a team from the ground up with a view to breaking back into the PL.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Does anyone know what the picture looks like for us if the transfer embargo is lifted? What can we realistically start spending in the summer window?

Ince has done a better job than I expected him to, but I don’t see him as someone who is going to build a team from the ground up with a view to breaking back into the PL.

The answer is probably not a lot. Not sure exactly what our income is but, as of this summer, we need to be spending a maximum of 90% of our income on transfer fees, wages and agents fees. So if our income is £15m, then £13.5m of that is on all those 3 combined. Baring in mind this will also be decreasing to 70% in the next couple of years.

Given the amount of players we are likely going to need, I'll be surprised if we are seeing (m)any seven figure sums for players, let alone significant ones i.e. above £2m.

[TiagoIlori]

Our home form is incredible, but we are in big trouble if that was to go. If the players aren’t good enough to play for the system he has in mind then either he needs to be a good manager and slowly integrate it now or shut up about it.

Lobbing it up to Andy Carroll and praying still wouldn’t work even if we had him in his prime.

[Snowflake Royal]

Does anyone know what the picture looks like for us if the transfer embargo is lifted? What can we realistically start spending in the summer window?

Ince has done a better job than I expected him to, but I don’t see him as someone who is going to build a team from the ground up with a view to breaking back into the PL.

The answer is probably not a lot. Not sure exactly what our income is but, as of this summer, we need to be spending a maximum of 90% of our income on transfer fees, wages and agents fees. So if our income is £15m, then £13.5m of that is on all those 3 combined. Baring in mind this will also be decreasing to 70% in the next couple of years.

Given the amount of players we are likely going to need, I'll be surprised if we are seeing (m)any seven figure sums for players, let alone significant ones i.e. above £2m.

Yeah. At least most clubs will be in a similar boat.

Except those with parachute payments of course. And the real big attendance boys.

More than half the division have an average attendance of no more than 5,000 more than us or less. So that rule is more likely to actually help us I think.

Assuming it's policed. Hard to see how many of the frequent overspenders (most of the division) will actually meet it.

[ReadingGlasses]

If Reading stay up this season, and Ince was then let go, then I think he could hold his head up and say "job done". Last season was a nightmare, and he managed to turn that around. This season almost all the pundits seemed to be predicting Reading would finish bottom, due to the massive outgoings of players and the financial restrictions. To avoid relegation has to be seen as a success in that context.

But, I'm not convinced that he's going to be the right person for the next couple of years. The next few seasons will be crucial, as the club exits the transfer restrictions and begins to move from emergency short term signings to longer term squad building. Presumably a lot of this will be done by Bowen and the recruitment team rather than Ince, but even so, it would surely be an advantage to have a manager in charge who can contribute to that longer term plan.

It sounds like Ince has helped encourage improvements off the pitch, but can he do it on the pitch? Has he got a vision in mind of a long term tactical structure to move towards, a style of play to implement throughout the club etc?

On the one hand, if he keeps them up again then he's probably earned a shot at another season. It feels a bit unfair to see him do the job he was asked to do, and then get rid of him. On the other hand, this feels like a good opportunity for a fresh start.

[Winston Biscuit]

hope we go absolutely insane with spending once we are out of the transfer/wage embargo thing

[Elm Park Kid]

We still have to stick to the 3-year rolling loss requirements (or whatever amended version the EFL has allowed for us next season).

[Snowflake Royal]

hope we go absolutely insane with spending once we are out of the transfer/wage embargo thing

I too have enjoyed the last 10 years so much I want to go through it again with even more points deductions and failure, but added double relegation.

[Ascotexgunner]

Expecting more of the same....limited spending and lots of loanees and free agents.

[From Despair To Where?]

I think we can safely assume our nett transfer spend next season will be £0. The big difference will be that, with restrictions lifted, we should be able to compete for free transfers rather than get the pickings of what's left after everyone else has had their fill.

[Royalcop]

Shame that Gareth Ainsworth looks to be on his way (back) to QPR, as a semi-regular watcher of Wycombe, I’ve always thought he could do a good job for us - tactically pragmatic, engenders fantastic team spirit, has an eye for a transfer bargain and used to working with an extremely tight budget.

[Elm Park Kid]

If only there was a Championship manager out there that has experience of taking over a club in financial difficulties, bringing in some really strong talent with almost no budget and then confounding expectations by steering the club closer to play off places than relegation.

I mean, despite the fact that Reading will have one of the lowest wage bills for the foreseeable future, will be competing against clubs much larger than them and clubs with parachute payments that are simply in another financial league . . . Obviously we should still be competing for promotion each season. And if we're not then the only, the only reason we're not would be because we have a crap manager, and bringing in someone else will allow us to defy all footballing logic.

[Snowflake Royal]

We're not actually closer to the play off places though are we. Really. It's a smaller points difference, yeah.

But it's more league placings and teams between us and it.

And we're considerably more likely to finish in the relegation zone than the play offs.

[Hound]

I think we can safely assume our nett transfer spend next season will be £0. The big difference will be that, with restrictions lifted, we should be able to compete for free transfers rather than get the pickings of what's left after everyone else has had their fill.

Yeah exactly that. And maybe spend 500k or something if the right option comes along

That’s considerably better than we’ve had it for the last 3 years or so

Guess they’ll be very closely watching how Genoa get on as well, that could give us some good flexibility (currently second 3 points clear of third)

[Snowflake Royal]

Is this 90% wage cap that YR keeps talking about definitely happening next season?

Because if it is we may actually be fairly competitive for signings in the mid-table group as we'll already be in pretty good shape.

If a bunch of clubs haven’t been planning ahead for it they may have to do some fairly drastic cutting minimising what they can offer anyone coming in.

You know we probably wouldn’t have but for the sanctions and business plan.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Is this 90% wage cap that YR keeps talking about definitely happening next season?

Because if it is we may actually be fairly competitive for signings in the mid-table group as we'll already be in pretty good shape.

If a bunch of clubs haven’t been planning ahead for it they may have to do some fairly drastic cutting minimising what they can offer anyone coming in.

You know we probably wouldn’t have but for the sanctions and business plan.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... ed-to-know

Gives a decent overview.

But yes our restrictions have probably been a bit of a blessing in disguise in some ways because it should have already allowed us to plan ahead for these changing rules this summer.

I think there will be quite a turnover of players at some clubs this summer, I wouldn't be surprised if most players that are our of contract at clubs this summer are actually released.

[Sutekh]

And these changes will apply to all clubs down every UEFA affiliated country’s league pyramids will they, or just those in the top divisions and/or playing in UEFA competitions? If the latter will the FL/FA amend their regulations to match?