McShane-Ferdinand

[marlowuk]

Still early days yet, but if this pair stay fit and suspension-free, they could be the best pairing since Sonko and Ingimarsson.

Surely not better than Gorkss-Pearce in the promotion season?

You must be joking!!? Yes? McShane and Ferdinand is the best central midfield pairing we have had since 2005 and we still have Hector and Cooper in reserve who will both get their opportunities and improve! With Gunter and Obita we must surely have one of the best back 4 in the division!

[Struggle Pig]

Still early days yet, but if this pair stay fit and suspension-free, they could be the best pairing since Sonko and Ingimarsson.

+1

I said the same thing on the MK Dons BFTG thread. McShane is just fantastic and already one of my favourite CB's we have ever had at Reading and Ferdinand, although not as good as McShane, credit where credit is due, he has been rock solid and keeps doing everything right. Has to be a contender for most improved player.

[melonhead]

Ferdinand was brilliant for the half a game he played last year too

[Huntley & Palmer]

The key thing for me is the distribution. Neither just lumps it forward once they have possession, always looking for a runner or a chance to move forward. Means less pressure being placed on the defence and the ability to recover position. Massive improvement over the aimless hoofing of Pearce and to an extent Hector

[RoyallyFcuked]

The key thing for me is the distribution. Neither just lumps it forward once they have possession, always looking for a runner or a chance to move forward. Means less pressure being placed on the defence and the ability to recover position. Massive improvement over the aimless hoofing of Pearce and to an extent Hector

You're spot on there, Pearce was always a hoofer really and I remember Gorkss being similar, there is much less of that aimless play going on and as you say is another reason why the defence looks solid. I think Hector can be trained out of any bad habits and will keep improving, espiecially with McShane or Ferdinand next to him, whereas Pearce was just limited. Another reason he had to go.

[CountryRoyal]

The key thing for me is the distribution. Neither just lumps it forward once they have possession, always looking for a runner or a chance to move forward. Means less pressure being placed on the defence and the ability to recover position. Massive improvement over the aimless hoofing of Pearce and to an extent Hector

You're spot on there, Pearce was always a hoofer really and I remember Gorkss being similar, there is much less of that aimless play going on and as you say is another reason why the defence looks solid. I think Hector can be trained out of any bad habits and will keep improving, espiecially with McShane or Ferdinand next to him, whereas Pearce was just limited. Another reason he had to go.

I thought McShane was a hoofer so to be speak, but have been pleasantly surprised and impressed with his willingness to play on the ground, and his awareness to know when to hoof. Hector and Cooper could learn a few things.

[St. Brynjar]

Still early days yet, but if this pair stay fit and suspension-free, they could be the best pairing since Sonko and Ingimarsson.

Surely not better than Gorkss-Pearce in the promotion season?

You must be joking!!? Yes? McShane and Ferdinand is the best central midfield pairing we have had since 2005 and we still have Hector and Cooper in reserve who will both get their opportunities and improve! With Gunter and Obita we must surely have one of the best back 4 in the division!

In 11/12 we had the best defence in the division, conceding fewer goals than anyone else - even more impressive considering that defence contained the woeful Ian Harte. They may have faltered in subsequent seasons, but Gorkss and Pearce were a complete rock that year.

[John Smith]

In 11/12 we had the best defence in the division, conceding fewer goals than anyone else - even more impressive considering that defence contained the woeful Ian Harte. They may have faltered in subsequent seasons, but Gorkss and Pearce were a complete rock that year.

Calm down mate

[Upper West Ginger]

In 11/12 we had the best defence in the division, conceding fewer goals than anyone else - even more impressive considering that defence contained the woeful Ian Harte. They may have faltered in subsequent seasons, but Gorkss and Pearce were a complete rock that year.

I don't doubt your statistics, but Sonko and Ingimarsson were better for longer, and had a greater degree of success at the highest level. An honourable mention must go to one of my favourite players, Andre Bikey.
Pearce seemed to pass from "young and capable of improvement" to "keeps making the same mistakes" in the blink of an eye. We should have unloaded him earlier. Gorkss was indeed very good, but beginning to slow down.
For me (and it's only a personal opinion) Sonko + Ingimarsson >>> Gorkss + Pearce.
Where McShane+Ferdinand fit in that equation is yet to be determined.

[Ian Royal]

In 11/12 we had the best defence in the division, conceding fewer goals than anyone else - even more impressive considering that defence contained the woeful Ian Harte. They may have faltered in subsequent seasons, but Gorkss and Pearce were a complete rock that year.

I don't doubt your statistics, but Sonko and Ingimarsson were better for longer, and had a greater degree of success at the highest level. An honourable mention must go to one of my favourite players, Andre Bikey.
Pearce seemed to pass from "young and capable of improvement" to "keeps making the same mistakes" in the blink of an eye. We should have unloaded him earlier. Gorkss was indeed very good, but beginning to slow down.
For me (and it's only a personal opinion) Sonko + Ingimarsson >>> Gorkss + Pearce.
Where McShane+Ferdinand fit in that equation is yet to be determined.

He's not claiming they were better than Ivar and Sonko

[JC]

Interesting to note that Pearce has not made a League appearance yet with just 1 start in the Cup game they lost to Portsmouth
One wag on their forum referred to him having the turning circle of the Titanic

[Upper West Ginger]

In 11/12 we had the best defence in the division, conceding fewer goals than anyone else - even more impressive considering that defence contained the woeful Ian Harte. They may have faltered in subsequent seasons, but Gorkss and Pearce were a complete rock that year.

I don't doubt your statistics, but Sonko and Ingimarsson were better for longer, and had a greater degree of success at the highest level. An honourable mention must go to one of my favourite players, Andre Bikey.
Pearce seemed to pass from "young and capable of improvement" to "keeps making the same mistakes" in the blink of an eye. We should have unloaded him earlier. Gorkss was indeed very good, but beginning to slow down.
For me (and it's only a personal opinion) Sonko + Ingimarsson >>> Gorkss + Pearce.
Where McShane+Ferdinand fit in that equation is yet to be determined.

He's not claiming they were better than Ivar and Sonko

Then I've misinterpreted St Brynjar's comment, if you are right. By bringing Gorkss and Pearce into the argument, I thought he was saying they were even better than the comparison I had already made (Ivar and Sonko).
So we might all be desperately in agreement then! Makes a change on this forum ...

[SCIAG]

I thought McShane was a hoofer so to be speak, but have been pleasantly surprised and impressed with his willingness to play on the ground, and his awareness to know when to hoof.

That's probably because we've mostly seen him at PL level. There, he's not quick enough mentally or good enough technically, and mistakes are more likely to be punished, so he has to hoof it.

I don't think the gap between McShane and Pearce is anywhere near as big as people are making out. I suspect this is largely the result of one of them rejecting us and the other choosing to sign for us. Last season Pearce completed 75% of his passes, so far McShane's the same. Neither of them are nearly as comfortable on the ball as Hector (or Bikey or Dariusz). I think McShane's a little more confident at present than Pearce has been recently but he's still misplacing a few passes a match.

If I were to rank every centre back I've seen at Reading based on how good they are in possession, I'd put them both roughly in the middle of the pack, roughly alongside Ingimarsson and Mills, comfortably ahead of Mackie, Hunter, Duberry, and certainly Sonko.

[St. Brynjar]

I don't doubt your statistics, but Sonko and Ingimarsson were better for longer, and had a greater degree of success at the highest level. An honourable mention must go to one of my favourite players, Andre Bikey.
Pearce seemed to pass from "young and capable of improvement" to "keeps making the same mistakes" in the blink of an eye. We should have unloaded him earlier. Gorkss was indeed very good, but beginning to slow down.
For me (and it's only a personal opinion) Sonko + Ingimarsson >>> Gorkss + Pearce.
Where McShane+Ferdinand fit in that equation is yet to be determined.

He's not claiming they were better than Ivar and Sonko

Then I've misinterpreted St Brynjar's comment, if you are right. By bringing Gorkss and Pearce into the argument, I thought he was saying they were even better than the comparison I had already made (Ivar and Sonko).
So we might all be desperately in agreement then! Makes a change on this forum ...

I was disagreeing with the statement that Ferdinand & McShane were the best pairing since Ivar & Sonko, although I do think it's close between II/IS and AP/KG, with the former edging it because of their longevity. McShane & Ferdinand have been very impressive so far, but it's too early to say they're better than a pairing who dominated the league.

[Hoop Blah]

That's probably because we've mostly seen him at PL level. There, he's not quick enough mentally or good enough technically, and mistakes are more likely to be punished, so he has to hoof it.

I don't think the gap between McShane and Pearce is anywhere near as big as people are making out. I suspect this is largely the result of one of them rejecting us and the other choosing to sign for us. Last season Pearce completed 75% of his passes, so far McShane's the same. Neither of them are nearly as comfortable on the ball as Hector (or Bikey or Dariusz). I think McShane's a little more confident at present than Pearce has been recently but he's still misplacing a few passes a match.

If I were to rank every centre back I've seen at Reading based on how good they are in possession, I'd put them both roughly in the middle of the pack, roughly alongside Ingimarsson and Mills, comfortably ahead of Mackie, Hunter, Duberry, and certainly Sonko.

I'd go along with most of that, especially the gap in judging players from their Premier League time as opposed to how good they might perform in the Championship. It's one of the reasons why a lot of posters have called Ferdinand rubbish because he wasn't outstanding in the Premier League (I think he was at times, although I never thought he'd recapture form and fitness enough to make any kind of contribution this or last season). Conversely you only have to look at how well Gorkss played for both QPR and us in the Championship and then how poor he looked in the Premier League.

People really should consider that when they hype up the likes of Hector as a Premier League quality defender when in reality he's currently a pretty average Championship one with the potential to kick on from here (he's already 23 though, roughly the same age as Adie Williams would've been in the '95 Play Off Final or Pearce when he was about to win our Player of the Year in in the Championship winning season).

When Pearce was playing well and confident he wasn't half as bad on the ball as people made out. He certainly wasn't a Darius Wdowcyk, or even a Kishanishvili, but he kept things simple and just gave the ball to better passers around him and didn't over complicate things. I'd say McShane is pretty similar, just more confident and in form at the moment as SCIAG suggests.

[Ian Royal]

Agree with both your posts. The only thing I'd add is that I'm not convinced anyone is saying Hec IS PL quality, yet. More that in a season or two he has the potential to be and should realise it.

He's got plenty to learn but during his first full championship season in defence he was outstanding bar lapses in decision making and judgement which you'd expect to improve with games.

[Hoop Blah]

See I'd say he had a few outstanding games but in general he was a pretty average Championship defender who showed a lot of glimpses of potential.

People are saying he's worth £5-8m on the Palace rumour thread!

[WoodleyRoyal]

People are saying he's worth £5-8m on the Palace rumour thread!

I don't think he is worth that, and i imagine most others don't either, however i was one of the people who valued him at 5-8. The reason being, if palace want to buy him and we don't want to sell that adds a premium, he has just signed a new contract, that adds a premium too. They will have to pay over the odds to get him. Personally i think a sensible price for him would be 1.5 - 2 mill

[Hoop Blah]

That's pretty similar to other players situations when they move too though, most clubs are looking at keeping their better players and getting higher prices for those under contract.

Even under his new contract and without us wanting or needing to sell him I'd say £3m would be a good price for his unproven ability and potential. Mariappa was a better, more proven defender, and went for £2.5m. He was a couple of years older and only had 2 years left on his contract of course but to think that Hector could go for 3 times as much is just daft (not that it couldn't happen in the crazy world of football of course!).

[Ian Royal]

See I'd say he had a few outstanding games but in general he was a pretty average Championship defender who showed a lot of glimpses of potential.

People are saying he's worth £5-8m on the Palace rumour thread!

To us, I think he is. To them, no chance.

English. Played well at Wembley on TV. We don't have to sell. Well in Contract.

And most importantly - Hammond.

The comparison with Mariappa isn't valid for me, for two reasons. 1) We needed to make savings. 2) He'd signed to play in the PL so is more likely to have wanted away.