Royals ready to pay for Bikey?

[Y21]

The fact that Coppell keeps picking him even though we have cover there means the Man clearly sees something in him - if Sir Steve of Coppell thinks he's good enough, then thats good enough for me.

[RG30]

The fact that Coppell keeps picking him even though we have cover there means the Man clearly sees something in him - if Sir Steve of Coppell thinks he's good enough, then thats good enough for me.

SC doesn't like to change winning teams but despite not having seen Bennett in action, I still believe he was signed as a cover player at best, just a better version of Sodje.

No doubt Sodje will leave in the summer, which leaves Bikey to fight it out with Inga/Sonko with Bennett/Duberry.

[Royalee]

I'm with H&P on this. He's looked ok at times, suspect on many occassions and very good for a desperate 15 minutes against Utd in the cup when he was almost left to defend on his own.

As for being comfortable on the ball, a ball playing centre half etc etc, do you people not remember Murty teaching him how to kick the ball during the Wigan (I think) game? He can 'ping' a ball when given time, but thats not being a ball player.

The advantage Bikey has over any other centre half we might look at is that he's already part of the squad and doesn't need that settling in period, and doesn't represent the gamble involved with any new signing because we already know him.

I don't think he was telling him how to kick the ball! Murty may have told him to pass the ball out to different players and tried get this across to him, but you really are a fool if you think he's that incompetent. You don't remember Bikey dribbling the ball out against Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City then? I wonder what game some people on here watch.

[Royalee]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

[RG30]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

[Hoop Blah]

I don't think he was telling him how to kick the ball! Murty may have told him to pass the ball out to different players and tried get this across to him, but you really are a fool if you think he's that incompetent. You don't remember Bikey dribbling the ball out against Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City then? I wonder what game some people on here watch.

After numerous mis-kicked clearances Murty was clearly giving him advice on how to make a better clearance. It wasn't a case of telling him to pass it out to a specific area, it was quite a graphic, impromptu coaching session.

Yes I remember Bikey bringing the ball out of defence on a few occassions, and as I said he can clearly hit 50 yard passes quite well but that doesn't make him either composed or a 'ball playing centre half.'

[Royalee]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

For us, yes. He did play for other clubs before us though, funnily enough.

[Tinrib]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

But then again you're not Steve Coppell either.

The question is, is Bikey cover for CB, given that Sonks & Ivar are first choice, or a future RFC central midfielder.

[Huntley & Palmer]

I'm with H&P on this. He's looked ok at times, suspect on many occassions and very good for a desperate 15 minutes against Utd in the cup when he was almost left to defend on his own.

As for being comfortable on the ball, a ball playing centre half etc etc, do you people not remember Murty teaching him how to kick the ball during the Wigan (I think) game? He can 'ping' a ball when given time, but thats not being a ball player.

The advantage Bikey has over any other centre half we might look at is that he's already part of the squad and doesn't need that settling in period, and doesn't represent the gamble involved with any new signing because we already know him.

I don't think he was telling him how to kick the ball! Murty may have told him to pass the ball out to different players and tried get this across to him, but you really are a fool if you think he's that incompetent. You don't remember Bikey dribbling the ball out against Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City then? I wonder what game some people on here watch.

So a defender is good because he dribbles a ball out of his own area, that sounds like to suicide to me.

[zac naloen]

After numerous mis-kicked clearances Murty was clearly giving him advice on how to make a better clearance. It wasn't a case of telling him to pass it out to a specific area, it was quite a graphic, impromptu coaching session.

We all know he's had one particularly bad game.

Would you like to cite some other examples before or since then?

[Royalee]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

But then again you're not Steve Coppell either.

The question is, is Bikey cover for CB, given that Sonks & Ivar are first choice, or a future RFC central midfielder.

Given Duberry didn't keep his place after Boro and Sodje's hardly played, I'd say Coppell would only use both as a last resort. I'd like to see Bikey play in central midfield long term, but feel he's more worthwhile at centre back at the moment.

[Huntley & Palmer]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

For us, yes. He did play for other clubs before us though, funnily enough.

So his Premiership experience with Chelsea and Leeds is worth nothing?

[Tinrib]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

But then again you're not Steve Coppell either.

The question is, is Bikey cover for CB, given that Sonks & Ivar are first choice, or a future RFC central midfielder.

Given Duberry didn't keep his place after Boro and Sodje's hardly played, I'd say Coppell would only use both as a last resort. I'd like to see Bikey play in central midfield long term, but feel he's more worthwhile at centre back at the moment.

Bravo ! But I dont really think RFC would pay £800k for Doobs as a last resort...I think we as a club have a bit more savvy than that..

[Royalee]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

For us, yes. He did play for other clubs before us though, funnily enough.

So his Premiership experience with Chelsea and Leeds is worth nothing?

It's not worth anywhere near as much as you want it to be.

[Hoop Blah]

After numerous mis-kicked clearances Murty was clearly giving him advice on how to make a better clearance. It wasn't a case of telling him to pass it out to a specific area, it was quite a graphic, impromptu coaching session.

We all know he's had one particularly bad game.

Would you like to cite some other examples before or since then?

I can't think of specific examples off the top of my head right now but I know my general feeling of apprehension when he try's things at the back. I still feel much the same towards Sonko, or any other centre half that trys to over complicate things when their technique is not that hot. I was just pointing out that Bikey is certainly not a ball playing centre half in the mold of Wdowcyk.

More importantly it's his defending that I think goes against him. Yes he can improve but he is consistently caught out of position and on the back foot and I'd hope we'd bring in better defenders this summer considering the success we've had this season, the centre halfs we added to the squad in January, and the financial rewards for hopefully finishing in the top half of the Prem.

[wehateoxford]

i think bikey will develop into a good CM, comfortable on the ball, good distribution, not scared to tackle

1.5 is a bargain for a man who can handle himself in CM and DC, plus is only 21(?)

[East Stand Royal 500]

The question is, is Bikey cover for CB, given that Sonks & Ivar are first choice, or a future RFC central midfielder.

He's less likely to concede a penalty in central midfield and I feel nervous with him in the box.

He seems sometimes as though he is playing out of his natural position but I'm not yet convinced he has the all round skills needed in mid-field. I wouldn't want to risk trying it as an experiment in the League unless it's forced on us or we have already landed/lost a place in Europe but possibly in a Reserves fixture.

[SpaceCruiser]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

For us, yes. He did play for other clubs before us though, funnily enough.

So his Premiership experience with Chelsea and Leeds is worth nothing?

It's not worth anywhere near as much as you want it to be.

But he's surely good enough for cover, you moron.

[Huntley & Palmer]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

For us, yes. He did play for other clubs before us though, funnily enough.

So his Premiership experience with Chelsea and Leeds is worth nothing?

It's not worth anywhere near as much as you want it to be.

At this moment in time it is worth more than anything Bikey has. You could tell at Boro that Duberry, even under the weather as he was, is more calm and calculating in his defending. He also uses intelligence with passes and headers to other players

[Wycombe Royal]

He's no doubt a good footballer, and for £1.5m seems good value.

The question surely is, what position is he being bought for?

CB cover is very good, (Sonks, Ingi, Doobs, Bennet, Sodje, Brown) and given we've seen glimpses of Bikey in centre mid, could he end up being Sidders replacement IF he goes..?

But wherever he plays a good signing, and fits the young & hungry mould nicely.

I wouldn't consider Duberry or Sodje anywhere near good enough cover from what I've seen of them.

Errr Duberry has played 1 match

For us, yes. He did play for other clubs before us though, funnily enough.

So his Premiership experience with Chelsea and Leeds is worth nothing?

It's not worth anywhere near as much as you want it to be.

At this moment in time it is worth more than anything Bikey has. You could tell at Boro that Duberry, even under the weather as he was, is more calm and calculating in his defending. He also uses intelligence with passes and headers to other players

Didn't he give away the free kick that led to Boro's first. That's the sort of thing you have criticised Bikey for.