Chris Makin

[Royal Lady]

I thought the main crux of this difference of opinion was that we are players short, not necessarily that they have to have Premiership experience?

[Alan Titchmarsh]

As for our Premiership experience, the likes of Marcus, Stack, Ivar were at Premiership clubs for a while, but they never really played and even in Osters and Makin's cases, their experience is minimal and quite a while back now. It hardly counts in my book.

Indeed: Marcus, Ivar and Stack have never played in a single Prem match.

Glen was a sub 4 times on loan for Bolton - managing a grand total of 29 minutes of Prem football!

Most of Oster's Prem experience was from the bench and has had just 3 starts since 2000 (and managed to get sent off in one of them)

We are crying out for an experienced Prem campaigner for defence and/or midfield. The Henchoz type.

Dave Kitson went to watch Spurs one time, does that count?

[Hoop Blah]

The point I've made is that Premiership experience in its self counts for very little.....................as witnessed by your insistance that Oster will be 3rd choice behind Seul and Little.

I don't think anybody was suggesting we need to bring in a failed Premiership players with limited experience as a sub 6 or 7 years ago. That was my point. I think the general point was that we are lacking in numbers and in addition to that we're lacking in Premiership experience as well.

Furthermore, as witnessed by Heskey's £5m transfer fee, too many people in this game over value Premiership experience, making Heskey a far bigger gamble than Kevin Doyle (who, IMHO, is the better player by a distance despite having no Premiership experience)

Thus I see the constant mention of Premiership experience as an obsession amongst the doom merchants on these pages.

Overpriced maybe, but a gamble no. Heskey has proved what he is capable of in the Premiership over how ever many years he's consistently performed. He might not be any good but he is proven!

The unknown quantity of entering a new league is obviously concerning a few of us, having a few players that have performed at the level would just seem a way of minimising the unknown thats all.

Perish the thought, but have you considered the possibility that you frequently miss the point bring made?

Why would I do that!

[Woodcote Royal]

Neither do I, but, nevertheless, this appears be the case.

Heskey is a washed up has-been (and, some would say, never was)

In fact, he's not a gamble, he's a ridiculous waste of money, bought, no doubt, to appease another set of panicking fans.

I, too, hope we sign at least one defender before deadline day, but if we can't get the quality SC has clearly been tracking, give me another young, up and comimg player like Sonko rather than the experienced and proven Ray Houghton, Shaun Goater type living off of past "proven" days of glory.

[RFCSinceBury1971]

Why the panic? Makin is not a regular in the first team. Its no big deal.

This is a huge blow he is one of two players with premiership experience great player to have on the fringe and as coppell said probably would of played more if Murty had not come back when he was injured. We need defensive players ASAP COPPELL!!!!

Its not a big blow IMO. A big blow would of been if we let Sidwell go. Coppell has tried to sign players but he cannot get them. Im sure once players that are available see no one bigger than us coming in for them we could see one or two signings.
Everyone moaned when we let Adie go but Coppell new what he was doing as he had Sonko in reserve. Im sure he has something in the pipeline that will see our squad increase in numbers. However if it doesnt happen before Sat I shall not be losing sleep over it.

[ayjaydee]

Neither do I, but, nevertheless, this appears be the case.

Heskey is a washed up has-been (and, some would say, never was)

In fact, he's not a gamble, he's a ridiculous waste of money, bought, no doubt, to appease another set of panicking fans.

I, too, hope we sign at least one defender before deadline day, but if we can't get the quality SC has clearly been tracking, give me another young, up and comimg player like Sonko rather than the experienced and proven Ray Houghton, Shaun Goater type living off of past "proven" days of glory.

Whilst not disagreeing with your sentiment (for a change) there is a distinct lack of signings be they "experienced" or "up and coming". Whilst not advocating signings for signings sake I am extremely concerned that if you exclude the starting X1 we DO NOT have enough experienced players - made worse by the loss of Makin.

We cannot afford "fill in" players out of position for more than part of a game in the Prem. Acceptable from the bench during a game but no more.

The likes of Golbourne, Brown, Sodje do not even have any Championship experience under their belt and it would fill me with horror if any of them had to play with any degree of regularity in our first season in the Prem.

[Tilehurst Mike]

Neither do I, but, nevertheless, this appears be the case.

Heskey is a washed up has-been (and, some would say, never was)

In fact, he's not a gamble, he's a ridiculous waste of money, bought, no doubt, to appease another set of panicking fans.

I, too, hope we sign at least one defender before deadline day, but if we can't get the quality SC has clearly been tracking, give me another young, up and comimg player like Sonko rather than the experienced and proven Ray Houghton, Shaun Goater type living off of past "proven" days of glory.

Mark my words, Paul Jewell like Coppell is no mug, so to say that Heskey is a washed up has been is a bit naive in my view. Chelsea have inflated the whole Transfer market worldwide so clubs are paying ridiculous prices for players--Is Carrick really worth that much??

Its about time Madjeski faced up to this fact. Its not just about clubs not willing to sell, but that old adage WAGES. I genuinely believe that as he is looking to sell the club, he is just not willing to pay the money needed to attract the players that Coppell has earmarked he would like. Mcsheffery is another example, would have been a great signing but now on his way to Birmingham for 4Mill.

As much as I salute the fantastic achievement of last years squad (and it has remained intact) we were very fortunate with injuries. To enter the season with so little back up in defence is asking for trouble.

I think if you were to analyse all the postings on this subject in various guises you will find that at least 80% of posters think the current squad and two signings TO DATE is not sufficient to equip us for the whole season in the Premiership. Its just an opinion but don't call us negative, doom merchants and the like. I appreciate your views and optimism on the matter.

[Gatecrasher]

Well we'll probably never know how many players we have shown an interest in, but attracting them to Reading can't be easy. Look at Bolton's signings, a club that's been in the top 8 of the Prem for the last 3 seasons:

Quinton Fortune (Man Utd), Abdoulaye Meite (Marseille, undisclosed), Idan Tal (Maccabi Haifa, undisclosed

[Only one Trevor Morley]

Its about time Madjeski faced up to this fact. Its not just about clubs not willing to sell, but that old adage WAGES. I genuinely believe that as he is looking to sell the club, he is just not willing to pay the money needed to attract the players that Coppell has earmarked he would like. Mcsheffery is another example, would have been a great signing but now on his way to Birmingham for 4Mill.

Thats incorrect - Mensah, Whitehead and Faye have been the subject of major reading bids this summer - and on each occasion the bid has been turned down - Whitehad described the interest from Reading as 'flattering' and Mensah was also reported as being keen.

The only person who hasnt been happy with the wages readfing pay is sidwell.

[Only one Trevor Morley]

and now Golbourne is going on loan to Wycombe

I really hope we have a left back lined up somewhere!!

[Dangerous]

Got this right from the horses mouth this morning, as a certain Leon Crouch told me in my meeting with him first thing this morning, so that caught me completely off the ball, so he had great delight in telling me all about it.

He then went on to fire a series of questions at me regarding us and Coppell, and how we got out of the league, and then proceeded to leave the office to make a phone call!

Didn't see him again all day!

I now am certain we will be signing one, if not two high quality defenders, if not by this weekend, then certainly by the transfer window.

[iang040563]

Steve Coppel has Premiership experience - both as a player and as a Manager. He should know it better than most. If anyone thinks our players are going to be good enough or not, then SC is that man - not a bunch of doom hungry HNAers.
Get behind the team. A ball has not even been kicked yet and the majority of you already have them relegated.

[Darren Caskey's Dietician]

This move does nothing but baffle me.

When we won promotion last season, I was very excited. I felt we had a brilliant spine for the premiership, and felt the addition of a proven premiership goalscorer, be they in their prime, or someone like Jimmy Floyd who would still get 10+ goals, a winger, a central midfielder, at least one premiership level defender and a left back would have made us a solid contender to not just stay up, but have a reasonable season which would see us comfortably avoid relegation.

Of those, the only person who has come that is of a significant standard is Seol. I think Sodje will be a good squad player to have, but certainly not of the standard we need to help keep the number conceeded down.

Today, we let Makin go. Now, I am hoping RFC have something lined up that none of us know about, and my concerns are unfounded. But I deem the loss of Makin as a major blow. Not because he was essential to our first team, but because we still only have a spine of a team. We dont have strength in depth, and we lack quality in certain areas of the team.

Our wing backs are one of the areas at most risk. Makin covered 2 positions, and to my mind, Goldbourne isn't ready (which is why he has been sent out on loan, leaving us even weaker in numbers). So, should Murty or Shorey get injured, we will be left very exposed, which against wingers of the calibre in the premiership is a formula for disaster.

Again, I stress, we have a great spine for success. And all it takes is an investment of 40-50% of the extra income from this season to turn that spine into a reasonable premiership team. So far, this hasn't happened, and after todays business, I have to say - my concerns are growing.

[The whole year inn]

Maybe Makin just wanted to play at a bigger club?

[YorkshireRoyal]

He ain't very good, but the whole point of getting rid of a squad player is because you've signed a better player to replace him. We've signed.......?

Any injuries now and we're absolutely down #### creek. All because Coppell can't be bothered to finish his Summer holiday.

[londinium]

He ain't very good, but the whole point of getting rid of a squad player is because you've signed a better player to replace him. We've signed.......?

Any injuries now and we're absolutely down #### creek. All because Coppell can't be bothered to finish his Summer holiday.

What an extremely well scripted and thought out post.


I will be glad when the new term starts so I dont have to read any more of your inane drivel at 1 o'clock in the morning.

[Mr Angry]

A HUGE thank you to Chris Makin for all he has done to help Reading Football Club achieve Premiership status, not only in being a highly competent replacement for both full back positions when called upon, but also being one of the fringe players who never bitched about not being a first teamer and who, therefore, contributed to the fantastic team spirit we had last season.

Good luck at Southampton.

This also again shows what sort of a guy Coppell is; he isn't stupid and knows we need more defensive cover, yet because he gave one of his players his word that if a longer deal was forthcoming from another club, he would let that player go with his blessing.

Personally, I actually rather like having a man of integrity as the Manager of the club I support.

As for replacement defenders, I'm 100% positive that Coppell, Hammond and the rest of the Management team are doing everything they can do to bring in the sort of player that is required.

Have some faith people.

[Wycombe Royal]

Our wing backs are one of the areas at most risk.

So risky in fact that we don't even play wing backs

[Jaques Francais]

Chris Makin - Many thanks for your service to the club. You will be missed, all the best at Southampton.

Not Enough Players With Prem Experience - Who have been our top players over the past few years in the CCC?:

Leroy Lita - No Previous CCC Experience
Dave Kitson - No Previous CCC Experience
Kevin Doyle - No Previous CCC Experience
Bobby Convey - No Previous CCC Experience
Glen Little - Never really shone before
Sonko too I believe - No Previous CCC Experience

So to say that those players would never have cut it in a record breaking CCC side would have been, in hindsight, slightly foolish. While I know the step up to the top flight is a big one, to say that these players and the squad in general will fail due to lack of Prem experience is somewhat foolish and disrespectful to the team.

[Hoop Blah]

Chris Makin - Many thanks for your service to the club. You will be missed, all the best at Southampton.

Not Enough Players With Prem Experience - Who have been our top players over the past few years in the CCC?:

Leroy Lita - No Previous CCC Experience
Dave Kitson - No Previous CCC Experience
Kevin Doyle - No Previous CCC Experience
Bobby Convey - No Previous CCC Experience
Glen Little - Never really shone before
Sonko too I believe - No Previous CCC Experience

So to say that those players would never have cut it in a record breaking CCC side would have been, in hindsight, slightly foolish. While I know the step up to the top flight is a big one, to say that these players and the squad in general will fail due to lack of Prem experience is somewhat foolish and disrespectful to the team.

Firstly, Sonko and Convey took a season to settle into the standard and win a place in the side.

Little had been one of the better wingers in the division for years. When he first got into the Burnley side he was touted as the next Chris Waddle and was watched by many Premiership sides. I think he might've made an England training squad at some point too.

Kitson adjusted pretty well in this first season after an injury but it was his second season that he really looked the part. Doyle and Lita both had excellent first seasons at Championship level but it certainly helped that the side around them was settled at that level and not entering the unknown en-mass. There is no hiding place in the Premiership.

I don't think anybody is saying we'll fail due to a lack of Premiership experience, just that it will help us if we had some!

Generally we need more players in the squad. In an ideal world they would add some experience of the level we're playing at as all good sides need a balance of youth and experience.