Out of Contract 2022

[Snowflake Royal]

EFL will stick their nose in no doubt and come up with another business plan to suit. Which I have zero faith that would be a quick process.

In my eyes it would be absolute suicide going into a transfer window with only one striker under contract. No LB. No creative ability and no CM in our team. We would need to have several players lined up ready to sign once given a green light.

Yep I would be very concerned if Joao were to leave. We are losing Swift and Puscas in all likelihood. That’s two of the biggest wages off the books. We need to be creative in how we deal with Moore’s final year. I also think if Joao goes Laurent will go too as they seem very close.

Ejaria will save us. He's great.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Yeah, could fund 3 / 4 / 5 players. But boy what a hole to leave.

If we did manage to offload Puscas and Joao and get back in 7-10m or so, it’d have a significant impact on our finances. Bin off Moore and even better

I wonder if building a team for L1 might actually be a good strategy in that case. Bank cash, get us on an even keel and prepare for relegation and bounce back.

In a black and white world, maybe. No guarantee's of bouncing back within any sort of timeframe.

[Snowflake Royal]

If we did manage to offload Puscas and Joao and get back in 7-10m or so, it’d have a significant impact on our finances. Bin off Moore and even better

I wonder if building a team for L1 might actually be a good strategy in that case. Bank cash, get us on an even keel and prepare for relegation and bounce back.

In a black and white world, maybe. No guarantee's of bouncing back within any sort of timeframe.

Obviously. But if you build for it a year ahead, you should have a better chance of doing so.

[Franchise FC]

I’m pleased to see that so many are now seeing and commenting on the futility of trying to ‘play out from the back ‘ when you don’t have the technique or ability to do it . I have been saying this regularly since I have been on this site .
There will not be many of you that will have seen the Jack Mansell team . For one season they were a revelation ! He signed many of his players from non league football , including Tom Jenkins from Margate , a left winger who he sold at the end of the season for £65,000 , smashing the clubs record fee . The fans introduced the song ‘ its like watching Brazil ‘ , and it was . His method was simple , he often played out from the back but the players were told ‘ when a player near you has the ball find space In front of him ,then pass to him ‘ . This applied all over the pitch , it was done with pace , the players didn’t have to be quick , but the ball movement was . Rarely was there a backward pass .
We finished second in the league to Fulham , only one team was promoted then . They beat us 1-0 at home in an end of season game , their goal was scored a couple of minutes before the end of the game by the up and coming Malcolm McDonald , who went on to have an outstanding career , including scoring 5 goals in one game for England .
We ended the season as top goal scorers in the league and qualified for the Watney Cup the following season , losing to Man Utd , Bobby Charlton and all at Elm Park 4-3 .
Unfortunately we were relegated the next season as Jack Mansell’s relationship with the players severely broke down and the team didn’t perform .
I don’t see much wrong with his playing principles though , and it was great to watch . Coppell’s was not a lot different .

Malcolm McDonald didn`t play for Fulham to my knowledge, the goal you describe was for Luton and it wasn`t near the end of the season, he scored a hat trick in the return fixture at easter in a 5-0 win.

And the watney cup score was 3-2 not 4-3.

You're half right
McDonald did indeed play and score for Fulham

[Stranded]

Also of interest- where is JLow suddenly getting this inside info from after doing the absolute bare minimum in recent times

What has changed at the club this week? According to LinkedIn at least.

[Hound]

Also of interest- where is JLow suddenly getting this inside info from after doing the absolute bare minimum in recent times

What has changed at the club this week? According to LinkedIn at least.

Yeah that was my thought

[Ark Royal]

I’m pleased to see that so many are now seeing and commenting on the futility of trying to ‘play out from the back ‘ when you don’t have the technique or ability to do it . I have been saying this regularly since I have been on this site .
There will not be many of you that will have seen the Jack Mansell team . For one season they were a revelation ! He signed many of his players from non league football , including Tom Jenkins from Margate , a left winger who he sold at the end of the season for £65,000 , smashing the clubs record fee . The fans introduced the song ‘ its like watching Brazil ‘ , and it was . His method was simple , he often played out from the back but the players were told ‘ when a player near you has the ball find space In front of him ,then pass to him ‘ . This applied all over the pitch , it was done with pace , the players didn’t have to be quick , but the ball movement was . Rarely was there a backward pass .
We finished second in the league to Fulham , only one team was promoted then . They beat us 1-0 at home in an end of season game , their goal was scored a couple of minutes before the end of the game by the up and coming Malcolm McDonald , who went on to have an outstanding career , including scoring 5 goals in one game for England .
We ended the season as top goal scorers in the league and qualified for the Watney Cup the following season , losing to Man Utd , Bobby Charlton and all at Elm Park 4-3 .
Unfortunately we were relegated the next season as Jack Mansell’s relationship with the players severely broke down and the team didn’t perform .
I don’t see much wrong with his playing principles though , and it was great to watch . Coppell’s was not a lot different .

Malcolm McDonald didn`t play for Fulham to my knowledge, the goal you describe was for Luton and it wasn`t near the end of the season, he scored a hat trick in the return fixture at easter in a 5-0 win.

And the watney cup score was 3-2 not 4-3.

You're half right
McDonald did indeed play and score for Fulham

...and we finished 8th, not 2nd. Orient won the title and Luton were runners-up. We scored for fun that season (87), but conceded an alarming 77. Following season, the goals dried up (48), but we conceded 85(!). That's why we went down.

[Sutekh]

Malcolm McDonald didn`t play for Fulham to my knowledge, the goal you describe was for Luton and it wasn`t near the end of the season, he scored a hat trick in the return fixture at easter in a 5-0 win.

And the watney cup score was 3-2 not 4-3.

You're half right
McDonald did indeed play and score for Fulham

...and we finished 8th, not 2nd. Orient won the title and Luton were runners-up. We scored for fun that season (87), but conceded an alarming 77. Following season, the goals dried up (48), but we conceded 85(!). That's why we went down.

2021/22 has something common with that centenary celebration season then, this time round Reading conceded 87. Thank god it’s another 50 years to the next milestone celebration season!

Just for the record I think Reading’s worst season for conceding league goals was 1930/31 when 96 whistled into the net (and in only 42 games as well).

[SCIAG]

Losing Joao and Swift at the same time would be devastating.

I do think Joao is the best striker we have had in my time following the club. I do think he’s better than Kitson. Less clinical but also able to score things that Kitson wouldn’t have scored.

If we do lose Joao, huge pressure on Ejaria, Meite and recruitment.

[South Coast Royal]

Malcolm McDonald didn`t play for Fulham to my knowledge, the goal you describe was for Luton and it wasn`t near the end of the season, he scored a hat trick in the return fixture at easter in a 5-0 win.

And the watney cup score was 3-2 not 4-3.

You're half right
McDonald did indeed play and score for Fulham

...and we finished 8th, not 2nd. Orient won the title and Luton were runners-up. We scored for fun that season (87), but conceded an alarming 77. Following season, the goals dried up (48), but we conceded 85(!). That's why we went down.

While everybody is piling on Tommy Jenkins wasn't sold at the end of the season he went much earlier for £60,000 having been bought a few months earlier for about ten bob from Margate.
A great bit of financial business off the pitch but we went down hill afterwards.

I moved to Southampton just after Jenkins went there and was disappointed that he didn't make a big impression there-he had been so good for us.

Incidentally Gilkes went there some years later and didn't do much so Saints, a club renowned for their wingers, then gave up signing them from Reading.

[URZZZZ]

Tbh and it’s semantics but I think we play out from the back ok generally. Don’t remember many times when we got ourselves into trouble and we did manage to stretch the play and make space with it from time to time

It was the crappy aimless midfield passing about when we seemed to get stuck and give it away more than with the back 4/keeper imo

Trouble is, and of course there are variations within “playing from the back”, we just never seem to be very good at it

Rodgers failed miserably. Adkins did OK but he still underachieved and the football wasn’t great. Stam’s worked for a season but was a hard watch and obviously all fell to pieces. Started bright under Gomes but then we became directionless and aimless and pretty much the same under Paunovic. They were all “playing from the back styles” to varying degrees

Not advocating two lumps up top and playing for set pieces etc but we need to realise we can approach games differently, especially when teams are really pressing up or really dropping deep. That’s where wingers (your favourite cliche ) become more prominent, and is how McIntyre got his two late goals

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Tbh and it’s semantics but I think we play out from the back ok generally. Don’t remember many times when we got ourselves into trouble and we did manage to stretch the play and make space with it from time to time

It was the crappy aimless midfield passing about when we seemed to get stuck and give it away more than with the back 4/keeper imo

Trouble is, and of course there are variations within “playing from the back”, we just never seem to be very good at it

Rodgers failed miserably. Adkins did OK but he still underachieved and the football wasn’t great. Stam’s worked for a season but was a hard watch and obviously all fell to pieces. Started bright under Gomes but then we became directionless and aimless and pretty much the same under Paunovic. They were all “playing from the back styles” to varying degrees

Not advocating two lumps up top and playing for set pieces etc but we need to realise we can approach games differently, especially when teams are really pressing up or really dropping deep. That’s where wingers (your favourite cliche ) become more prominent, and is how McIntyre got his two late goals

You'd think with Joao and, maybe more so, Meite that we'd have enough about us to switch it up when needed though. Joao is capable of holding off defenders at a time, Meite can go over the top of full backs and you'd think 9 times from 10 would win a header against most full backs as well to play the percentage game and obviously Ejaria himself can hold the ball well from opposition defenders, draw fouls and can help the team progress up the pitch.

I genuinely think Meite is a really useful player for us simply because of his uniqueness as a winger and he should be part of what we can build a team and an identity around. He scores plenty of goals from that position as well, it's not just an option, but legitimately a worry for virtually every defence in this league.

[Brogue]

Sheff wed have a 20% sell on fee for Joao we will really struggle to replace him for the fee we will get.

[South Coast Royal]

Losing Joao and Swift at the same time would be devastating.

I do think Joao is the best striker we have had in my time following the club. I do think he’s better than Kitson. Less clinical but also able to score things that Kitson wouldn’t have scored.

If we do lose Joao, huge pressure on Ejaria, Meite and recruitment.

Don't agree on being better than Kitson especially as we are only seeing Joao in The Championship but do agree that losing Swift and Joao would have a major impact.

We do have to hope that after a Summer's rest Meite comes back as the player from before his injury rather than the one we saw at the tail end of this season.

[South Coast Royal]

As we are touching on the question of recruitment in this topic I wonder how and why Huddersfield are now getting Chelsea youngsters (Colwill, Anjolin & co) when in the past we have had a few (Chalobah, Ake, Baker etc.).

Surely geographically we are a good option even though young Anjolin went to Russia first before Huddersfield.
Hopefully that connection will be reactivated and the next Gallagher (whoever that might be in their production line) would be handy for starters.

[Stranded]

Sheff wed have a 20% sell on fee for Joao we will really struggle to replace him for the fee we will get.

It is usually a 20% cut of any profit. We paid, what 5m for him, so would be 20% of anything over that.

[Stranded]

As we are touching on the question of recruitment in this topic I wonder how and why Huddersfield are now getting Chelsea youngsters (Colwill, Anjolin & co) when in the past we have had a few (Chalobah, Ake, Baker etc.).

Surely geographically we are a good option even though young Anjolin went to Russia first before Huddersfield.
Hopefully that connection will be reactivated and the next Gallagher (whoever that might be in their production line) would be handy for starters.

I would imagine because they can pay a loan fee and we can't.

[Snowflake Royal]

Sheff wed have a 20% sell on fee for Joao we will really struggle to replace him for the fee we will get.

Usually profit isn't it... so say he goes for £5m we only lose about £400k

Edit, what stranded said, but slight difference on what we thought the fee was.

[leon]

Losing Joao and Swift at the same time would be devastating.

I do think Joao is the best striker we have had in my time following the club. I do think he’s better than Kitson. Less clinical but also able to score things that Kitson wouldn’t have scored.

If we do lose Joao, huge pressure on Ejaria, Meite and recruitment.

I can’t agree. Kitson didn’t go missing for vast parts of games. He was involved in linking up play. And he smashed up West Ham. And he was ginger.

[Rax]

Losing Joao and Swift at the same time would be devastating.

I do think Joao is the best striker we have had in my time following the club. I do think he’s better than Kitson. Less clinical but also able to score things that Kitson wouldn’t have scored.

If we do lose Joao, huge pressure on Ejaria, Meite and recruitment.

I can’t agree. Kitson didn’t go missing for vast parts of games. He was involved in linking up play. And he smashed up West Ham. And he was ginger.

Just for smashing up Pardew's West Ham, the man is a God!