Cedric Baseya

[Cypry]

We need 3/4 strikers around the first team, the rest should be moved on bar the 17/18 year old youth academy one's. Lawson d'ath for example is a midfielder.

[andrew1957]

I'm not sure what you're counting as a first team squad of 18 but I'd say it was more like 24/25 who were in danger of being involved in a match day squad in 04/05. We had a few youngsters to add to that number like Osano and a couple of loanee's over the year that were on the fringes (Obinna and Baradji).

The comparable number right now is probably, give or take, just the same but we certainly seem to have a larger squad because we give out squad numbers to all and sundry these days. We seem to give 1 and 2 year deals to more of the youngsters and cheap punts like Williams, B and this new fella are more common and get a squad number straight away. I'm not sure if the likes of Vasilev and Ilugsson were giving squad numbers when we signed them back in those days but they probably would be if we signed them today.

If you count Obinna and Baraji that takes the first team squad in 2005/6 to 20 but they were on loan and never started a game for us between them and had gone by the end of the season so I excluded them.

I think even in 2004/5 the squad size would be similar to 2005/6 but I don't have complete records for that season. The likes of Vasilev and Illugason definitely had squad numbers. In fact the criteria for giving out squad numbers seems to be the same now as it was then. We always have and still do give squad numbers to players signing their first professional contracts at age 18/19 – plus players joining us from elsewhere. Just occasionally we give a 17 year old a squad number early (Obita).

2005/6 squad
Position 1st choice 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Sub total
Goalkeeper Hahnemann *Stack 2
Left-back Shorey *Makin *Golbourne 3
Central defenders Ingimarsson Sonko *Brown 3
Right-back Murty *Halls 2
Central midfielders Sidwell Harper *Gunnarsson 3
Right wingers Little *Oster Sinnott 3
Left wingers Convey *Hunt Hayes 3
Forwards Kitson *Doyle *Lita *Long Cox Rendell 6

Total players *signed on or after the start of 2005/6 season First team squad now 18 players 21 Players played in league games 4 yet to play in an RFC league game 25

2011/12 squad

Goalkeeper Federici McCarthy Andersen Locke 4
Right back Cummings Griffin Gunnarsson Arnold 4
Central defenders Pearce Gorkss Khumalo Morrison Jack Mills Hector MacDonald McHugh 8
Left back Joe Mills Harte M.Williams Raymond 4
Defensive central midfielders
Leigertwood Karacan Howard Tabb Gage C.Edwards Goddard 7
Attacking central midfielder/ hole (0) or (1) Taylor D’Ath 2
Attacking wide midfielders McAnuff Kebe Robson-Kanu Obita/ Antonio Lossasso R.Edwards Walcott 8
Central strikers
Hunt Church Le Fondre Manset B.Williams Bignall Ugwu Murphy Baseya 9

Total players First team squad now 26 players All players 46

[marcusopp]

1 year contract no big deal really

Welcome Ced

'greed, and if we do think something of him we can choose to extend for a further 12 months. I don't see the big fuss really. Cheap signing, might work out, might not. Not really going to send us into meltdown while we give the boy a chance.

At least you two have an IQ of above 10! unlike the other half-wits on here!
A lot of football is about opportunities and luck. Being in the right place at the right time.
The stats on wiki don't show his overall contribution to a team. Look at Kevin Davies, he's a big lump who rarely scored until he started taking the penalties, yet Bolton build their team around him.
Ian Wright didn't start playing professional football until much later than most of the kids these days, he wasn't bad.
If our (usually very reliable) scouts think he's earnt a contract (presumably he's been on trial?????), then let's be patient with him.
There's no pressure as we already have plenty of forwards, so he can develop out of the critical eye of retardted fans who boo their own players and mock every forward with less than a goal a game ratio.

[Royal Lady]

Well I'm prepared to eat a whole humble pie if he comes good and is another Doyle (or Kevin Philips - LOL) - but are those ,who have the opposite views to me, prepared to do the same if he turns out to be a wet fish?

[Svlad Cjelli]

Well I'm prepared to eat a whole humble pie if he comes good and is another Doyle (or Kevin Philips - LOL) - but are those ,who have the opposite views to me, prepared to do the same if he turns out to be a wet fish?

Absolutely - he may never get a game for us. But I've never said he'll be any good or bigged him up - all I've said is that we need to see him before we can judge him.

But I'll also be happy in the knowledge that the money we've gambled on him is minimal.

[robinsfriday]

They liked him at Crewe

http://boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tn ... 2116744319

Gets better... only small mentions but if they think he's shit then he must be really shit.

http://www.crewe.vitalfootball.co.uk/fo ... e=1#M75090

http://www.crewe.vitalfootball.co.uk/fo ... e=1#M73030

[Hoop Blah]

Interesting andrew, and when I wrote 04/05 I meant 05/06!

The only names from that list I think you're missing are Dobson and Federici. My first team squad for that year would be

Hahnemann, Stack, Federici
Murty, Makin, Halls
Shorey, Golbourn
Sonko, Ingimarsson, Brown, Dobson
Harper, Sidwell, Gunnarsson
Little, Oster
Convey, Hunt
Kitson, Lita, Doyle, Long, Cox

Makes 24 who were genuine senior squad players and not just kids with squad numbers. Because we had such luck with injuries and a much more settled first XI the likes of Halls, Brown and Dobson hardly got a look in. Federici was a genuine third choice (albiet a weak one) in the same way as the likes of Locke, Andersen or Hamer have been in recent times.

I guess it shows that we have collected a lot of hangers on over the last few seasons. Whether that's because we see the likes of Gage, the Edwards brothers, Hector, Mills, D'Ath, Losasso etc etc as potential assets and their equivalents 5 or 6 years ago weren't I don't know. We certainly seem to have more of those types of players but I wouldn't say our first team squad is any different.

[Svlad Cjelli]

It's probably because we'd only relatively recently re-started the academy back then, so we didn't have the products of this in the squad as we do now.

[Hoop Blah]

It's probably because we'd only relatively recently re-started the academy back then, so we didn't have the products of this in the squad as we do now.

When did it stop? I remember scraping the reserves but not the youths.

[Maguire]

Excuse me Cedric, please could you direct me to the nearest golf sale?

[Royals-lad14]

Can I be the first to say that some of the posts on here are quite frankly embarrassing and cringeworthy at best.

Judge the bloke on the pitch with his Reading shirt on.

Cedric welcome to RFC.

agreed.

[andrew1957]

Interesting andrew, and when I wrote 04/05 I meant 05/06!

The only names from that list I think you're missing are Dobson and Federici. My first team squad for that year would be

Hahnemann, Stack, Federici
Murty, Makin, Halls
Shorey, Golbourn
Sonko, Ingimarsson, Brown, Dobson
Harper, Sidwell, Gunnarsson
Little, Oster
Convey, Hunt
Kitson, Lita, Doyle, Long, Cox

Makes 24 who were genuine senior squad players and not just kids with squad numbers. Because we had such luck with injuries and a much more settled first XI the likes of Halls, Brown and Dobson hardly got a look in. Federici was a genuine third choice (albiet a weak one) in the same way as the likes of Locke, Andersen or Hamer have been in recent times.

I guess it shows that we have collected a lot of hangers on over the last few seasons. Whether that's because we see the likes of Gage, the Edwards brothers, Hector, Mills, D'Ath, Losasso etc etc as potential assets and their equivalents 5 or 6 years ago weren't I don't know. We certainly seem to have more of those types of players but I wouldn't say our first team squad is any different.

Fed did not join until the summer of 2006 so was never part of the 05-06 squad.

You are right about Dobson but again he never started a game for us and had gone by the end of the season so I excluded him too.

I would still maintain that only 20 players had a realistic chance of staring a league game for us that season.

[RoyalBlue]

Will contribute absolutely nothing, then get released on a free. Why even spend this money if we still need to square the rubicon?

Pointless.

Because the stake on this gamble is really low - no transfer fee and minimal wages, so what's the risk?

On that basis I'm off to put pen on paper at the Mad Stad! I'm amazed that someone like you Svlad have tried that as an argument.

If you keep betting on rank outsiders one will eventually win but how much will you have spent, even with small stakes, by then?!

[Hoop Blah]

You sure about Federici? I'm sure he was part of the squad at that time because I thought I used to see him at the gym. Maybe it was when he was with us on a non-contract basis.

I'd include Dobson because he was part of the squad. He was only saved from playing because of Sonko and Ingimarsson's outstanding lack on injuries and suspensions.

[RoyalBlue]

that's less than £100k over the length of his deal, hardly busting the bank .

It is when our current wage structure is not sustainable. Look at the accounts. We cannot afford to be spending money like this.

By that logic, we can never afford to offer an academy product a contract. We can never afford cheap signings like Doyle and Long. We should save all the cash, however small, for established first teamers so that we don't increase the deficit.

Poor logic. We take chances on several academy players and cheap, basement signings. Some will come good, offer something to the team and be sold on at a good value. Some won't. You just assume that the success stories will more than cancel out the failures. Up front, we now have Williams and this guy in development. We also have Bignall in the academy and other kids in the development team; Ugwu and Murphy. If 1 or 2 out of all these guys come good and offer something to the team, that will probably cancel out the expense of all the others.

Sorry but yours is worse logic. You do spend your money on your own academy products who have displayed great potential. You do spend it on people like Doyle who have shown they can deliver at a reasonable level. You do not gamble it on someone like this. He may not even settle in the country for goodness sake! And don't assume those come good will outweigh the failures if we keep doing this. That list is growing and I reckon Williams will soon join it.

[RoyalBlue]

I'd be surprised if he is costing us more than £50k in wages over the next 9 months.

50k we haven't got as our wage structure is already too high. We should be cutting down, not adding.

There aren't many people on this thread who have studied the accounts. That much is clear.

In case you weren't aware, I am a qualified accoutant as are others on this forum.

But have you read what he wrote correctly. He said studied the accounts not studied accounts. Just because you are qualified doesn't automatically mean you have studied the accounts.

I can't help but feel the club have been pushed into this by the continous whinging noises from fans on HNA and in the ground asking where the money has gone and why aren't we signing anone. This is a panic signing.
When we are in adminstration come the end of may, I hope all you moaners are proud of yourself for ruining our club.

I am going outside to calm down.

The moaners were asking the club to spend money signing decent players not cheap rubbish! And if those that run the club felt pressured into signing cheap rubbish in the hope it would get the fans off their backs then they really aren't that clever.

[RoyalBlue]

Poor logic. We take chances on several academy players and cheap, basement signings. Some will come good, offer something to the team and be sold on at a good value. Some won't. You just assume that the success stories will more than cancel out the failures. Up front, we now have Williams and this guy in development. We also have Bignall in the academy and other kids in the development team; Ugwu and Murphy. If 1 or 2 out of all these guys come good and offer something to the team, that will probably cancel out the expense of all the others.

We can't afford this. What do you guys not understand? We need to cut the cloth to make ourselves more sustainable. This is a completely pointless signing when we have 7 other options up front. Needless expenses. We weren't struggling when we bought people like doyle and long, even they however were more proven than this guy.

Assuming he's on 1k a week this gamble will cost a whopping 9k.

You really just cannot resist any opportunity to slag off the club huh?

He's only with us for 9 weeks?

[Hoop Blah]

You sure about Federici? I'm sure he was part of the squad at that time because I thought I used to see him at the gym. Maybe it was when he was with us on a non-contract basis.

I'd include Dobson because he was part of the squad. He was only saved from playing because of Sonko and Ingimarsson's outstanding lack on injuries and suspensions.

Just checked, he was sub not used against Luton in the Carling Cup, Sept 05, so he must've been with us in some capacity.

[Simon's Church]

Looking forward to seeing Manset play the 'small man' role up top.

[Friday's Legacy]

we have some really whiny people on here. this lad will be on a the lowest of wages and is well worth looking at. bit of a rough diamond who we have kept an eye on for a while. if nothing comes of it then so what?