Successful transfer window. Play-off push on!

[moo]

8 mins to go...

Tevez still hasn't left Manchester.... ONE TIME!!!

[Mr Angry]

This transfer window has been both encouraging and, to an extent, exciting as it bodes well for the future - in the shape of the reported genuine interest for players of the quality of Wayne Bridge & Keith Andrews (who, if reports are correct, we were close to getting and only lost out to Premiership sides). Surely that lays to rest the perennial whinge of Reading FC being a club that "lacks ambition"??

We were told that there were "limited" funds available, and that has been the case; some decent quality additions (which we wouldn't have been able to afford prior to TSI) rather than the more fanciful expectations of some fans for spending £5M here, and £6M there....and, in my eyes at least, the events of the last week or so have given TSI more credibility as they have kept their word.

The rest of the season is going to be interesting; the play-offs ARE a real possibility (automatic - unless we pull a winning run a la last season out of the hat - is too much to hope for imho), but we could also just miss out; HOWEVER, even if we don't go up, as long as responsible investment in stremgthening the squad is made in the Summer, things for next season look highly promising.

[Terminal Boardom]

Reading Fans in being sensible Consiodering that TSI made money available as a signal of intent, coupled with the players rumoured to have been approached is one hell of a positive. I am actually relieved that stupid money has not been spunked on some foreign mercenary. Eg. Look at QPR signing that huge pile of elephant dung - Djibril Cisse. Panic buy or what?

[Snowball]

This transfer window has been both encouraging and, to an extent, exciting as it bodes well for the future - in the shape of the reported genuine interest for players of the quality of Wayne Bridge & Keith Andrews (who, if reports are correct, we were close to getting and only lost out to Premiership sides). Surely that lays to rest the perennial whinge of Reading FC being a club that "lacks ambition"??

We were told that there were "limited" funds available, and that has been the case; some decent quality additions (which we wouldn't have been able to afford prior to TSI) rather than the more fanciful expectations of some fans for spending £5M here, and £6M there....and, in my eyes at least, the events of the last week or so have given TSI more credibility as they have kept their word.

The rest of the season is going to be interesting; the play-offs ARE a real possibility (automatic - unless we pull a winning run a la last season out of the hat - is too much to hope for imho), but we could also just miss out; HOWEVER, even if we don't go up, as long as responsible investment in stremgthening the squad is made in the Summer, things for next season look highly promising.

With Kebe "back", with Roberts up front, and with Connolly at LB
and with Tom the Pole as an extra midfielder, is it not reasonable to expect
at least a tiny improvement in our points per game, especially as we don't have
to play Cardiff again?

Maintaining current form (our last 22 games) of 1.86 ppg would give us 78-79 points

If we could improve by only 5% we'd be on 80 points

If we improve by 10% we finish on 82 Points

or, putting it another way, the team without Roberts, Connolly, Cywka, etc ought to finish on 78-79

If we win just ONE extra game that was going to be a draw thenwe are on 80-81
do that twice and we are on 82-83.

It is most definitely ON



Doesn't mean it WILL happen; look at West Ham last night,
but I'd put West Ham as favourites (but not hot favourites)
for top, followed closely, VERY closely by Birmingham, Cardiff
and most definitely us.

I'll be disappointed now if we are lower than fourth, but my thoughts
that we might well be going to Birmingham needing a result for automatic
now look more than possible.

I have a sneaky feeling, though that it might be Cardiff-Reading at Wembley.

Not a prediction, I'm gonna keep dreaming of automatic...

[dogzbollox]

one of the papers had this

Reading are set to offer £3million-plus Simon Church for Brighton striker Craig Mackail-Smith.

playing for brighton tonight, so no.

I heard this one too but the reason it fell through was because they didn't want Church and we refused point blank to remove him from the deal - as a matter of fact we then offered to let them keep CMS & the £3m if they took Church.........

[Z175]

If you look at Watford, who lost Sordell at 10pm and spent the whole time trying to cling on to Mariappa, then thats a glimpse at what might have been....

Its obviously a blow to lose Kebe to West Ham, but he hasn't been doing it for us anyway this year. Its also a bid odd we haven't recalled McCarthy yet after Federici got his dream move, but I guess Andersen is just on cheaper wages. All in all I'm most pleased we kept Gorkks, despite Newcastle's bid. People talk about ambition, but Madejski showed that when he demanded £2m for Alfie from Brighton. Keeping those two is massive. Now with Ingimarsson back to provide cover along with the guy on loan from Eastleigh, and the Grimbsy lad looking like a prospect, I don't see any reason why our team is that much weaker than pre Jan. Expect Antonio to step up, we might just get 6th yet.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Birmingham will win this division IMHO.

[melonhead]

we needed something different upfront, someone who is proven,with some experience - tick
we needed decent cover for gorkss/pearce and someone who could push them both - tick
we needed an attacking creative midfielder - tick
we signed kebe, and got sheppard too

all you can ask for is that we keep our best players, improve the 1st team and fill obvious gaps in our squad.

tick, tick tickety tick.

[Wimb]

we needed something different upfront, someone who is proven,with some experience - tick
we needed decent cover for gorkss/pearce and someone who could push them both - tick
we needed an attacking creative midfielder - tick
we signed kebe, and got sheppard too

all you can ask for is that we keep our best players, improve the 1st team and fill obvious gaps in our squad.

tick, tick tickety tick.

^^^ well said that man/melon

[Snowball]

Birmingham will win this division IMHO.

Looks likely dunnit?

But that'd be bad news for us, as catching West ham is a tough ask.

We'll need Birmingham (if they end up champs) to beat West Ham and Cardiff
for us, and then have an off day at home 28th April

[Mike Hunt]

Birmingham will win this division IMHO.

Wanted to drop a tenner on this before the game, but missed out...

[rfc2001]

Will beat brum on the last day to win the title! HA

[Friday's Legacy]

we needed something different upfront, someone who is proven,with some experience - tick
we needed decent cover for gorkss/pearce and someone who could push them both - tick
we needed an attacking creative midfielder - tick
we signed kebe, and got sheppard too

all you can ask for is that we keep our best players, improve the 1st team and fill obvious gaps in our squad.

tick, tick tickety tick.

^^^ well said that man/melon

couldn't agree more, melonhead. especially in the short space of time we had. which ever division we're in in the summer, we will see some interesting signings with a number of outgoings as well. we will have a very different squad come august.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

My take on it is that West Ham, Cardiff, Southampton and Brum will contest the race for auto promotion (although Southampton could well falter) which leaves 2 spaces for the play-offs with realistically about 8 sides in with a shout.

Middlesboro look the best bet of the rest - I am still not convinced we have enough in the middle of the park and we look suspect at the back against any pace up front in the opposition.

[Snowball]

My take on it is that West Ham, Cardiff, Southampton and Brum will contest the race for auto promotion (although Southampton could well falter) which leaves 2 spaces for the play-offs with realistically about 8 sides in with a shout.

Middlesboro look the best bet of the rest - I am still not convinced we have enough in the middle of the park and we look suspect at the back against any pace up front in the opposition.

We look suspect at the back against any pace up front in the opposition
and that's why we are second in the table for goals conceded. QED.

[FiNeRaIn]

His point about not having enough in the middle of the park is completely true. I can't remember a centre midfield pairing as weak as we have currently have since the old division two days.

[Snowball]

His point about not having enough in the middle of the park is completely true. I can't remember a centre midfield pairing as weak as we have currently have since the old division two days.

Obviously it's REALLY bad, which is why we've won 8 of our last 11 games

[FiNeRaIn]

His point about not having enough in the middle of the park is completely true. I can't remember a centre midfield pairing as weak as we have currently have since the old division two days.

Obviously it's REALLY bad, which is why we've won 8 of our last 11 games

Jesus, you make some good points at times but equally some cretinous ones. How many of those goals were created or scored by our centre mids? If you put me in the team and we happened to fluke a 1-0 win after being hammered and I performed out of my depth as expected, would you come back and say ' well finerain has a 100% win record in the team, we need to start him" no, you wouldn't. Stats don't tell the whole story and you need to stop treating them like they do. You've been told about this 100's of times on the forum.

[JC]

My take on it is that West Ham, Cardiff, Southampton and Brum will contest the race for auto promotion (although Southampton could well falter) which leaves 2 spaces for the play-offs with realistically about 8 sides in with a shout.

Middlesboro look the best bet of the rest - I am still not convinced we have enough in the middle of the park and we look suspect at the back against any pace up front in the opposition.

Southampton are faltering. They have 12 points from the last 11 games and that is relegation form. On the current form table (8 games) we are top with 18 points which is one more than Birmingham. Cardiff, Hull and West Ham are all on 13. Saints are on 9 points which places them in 16th place on current form.

[Cypry]

His point about not having enough in the middle of the park is completely true. I can't remember a centre midfield pairing as weak as we have currently have since the old division two days.

Obviously it's REALLY bad, which is why we've won 8 of our last 11 games

Jesus, you make some good points at times but equally some cretinous ones. How many of those goals were created or scored by our centre mids? If you put me in the team and we happened to fluke a 1-0 win after being hammered and I performed out of my depth as expected, would you come back and say ' well finerain has a 100% win record in the team, we need to start him" no, you wouldn't. Stats don't tell the whole story and you need to stop treating them like they do. You've been told about this 100's of times on the forum.

Had to drive to Liverpool yesterday with a colleague who's a QPR fan, so we naturally spent a bit of time talking about our respective teams and their fortunes. I mentioned our seemingly toothless centre midefield and his take as an outsider looking on (and I'm not saying this is 100% correct, just repeating what he said) is that we're "set up like a lot of Italian teams - defensive midfield pairing who's job is largely to help protect the back five and prevent leaking goals, with a reliance on creating goals through the wingers and strikers, or at set pieces."

I wonder if he has a point? Moreso, I wonder if we were to put an attacking/creative player in the centre, then this might bugger the system, and see us shipping as many goals as the new approach creates?

Perhaps this is why McD didn't play Howard, and apparently didn't put a creative midfielder at the top of his shopping list in the January window? After all the same system got us to the playoff final last year, we're in and around the playoff positions this year, and currently top of the form table. Changing the system now might just be considered too much of a risk.....