Building for next season

[windermereROYAL]

Watch where the parachute payment is spent ,to see the owners intent.

What parachute payment?

[muirinho]

Watch where the parachute payment is spent ,to see the owners intent.

What parachute payment?

Do you get a parachute payment from Championship to L1?

[Old Man Andrews]

Watch where the parachute payment is spent ,to see the owners intent.

What parachute payment?

Do you get a parachute payment from Championship to L1?

Probably just an actual parachute.

[Forbury Lion]

What a great post!

I think that we need another keeper who will challenge Mannone for 1st choice. Not a backup keeper.

We need 2 strikers.

We need a new RB.

We need a bone crunching CM who will sweep up, and then start play.

We need good backups and subs bench. We do not have that.

We need a pacey striker.

We need a RW and LW who can also defend,

We need leaders and discipline.

I don't disagree with you, but that many ins and outs will take two seasons, minimum. For next season we will be lucky to get 1 striker, 1 midfielder and 1 defender

[NewCorkSeth]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

[Snowflake Royal]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

[Denver Royal]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

I hear ya, but not sure there are hard and fast rules. As a fan, I'd love to field a team of kids from our academy and gush over the potential. We'd all get a woody. Just as the fans of most clubs would. However, it doesn't usually work like that. And, there are reasons for it.

What if we signed Huth and Glen Johnson, and we just managed to stay up again next season, and it was pretty evident those two played a big part in keeping us up? Would signing them have been a mistake?

I'm not advocating for us to sign those two players in particular. I guess what I'm saying is, there is a disconnect between being a fan, being a manager, a GM, an owner, etc. In short, it's usually a balance, and most teams have a mix. And with good reason.

[muirinho]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

I hear ya, but not sure there are hard and fast rules. As a fan, I'd love to field a team of kids from our academy and gush over the potential. We'd all get a woody. As fans of most clubs would. However, it doesn't usually work like that. And, there are reasons for it.

What if we signed Huth and Glen Johnson, and we just managed to stay up again next season, and it was pretty evident those two played a big part in keeping us up? Would signing them have been a mistake?

I'm not advocating for us to sign those two players in particular. I guess what I'm saying is, there is a disconnect between being a fan, being a manager, a GM, an owner, etc. In short, it's usually a balance, and most teams have a mix. And with good reason.

Guys like that cost a lot of money, and are, IMO high risk. Wayne Bridge, you could tell he was a classy player, but he played about six minutes for us. That's no use. They're luxuries.

[Denver Royal]

Yep, as with anything, clubs have to be smart and judicious. Calculate risk vs reward. The clubs that do that the best, are usually more successful.

But it's not all or nothing, was my point. There are bad signings and good one's.

McShane? Ian Harte?

Again, as fans we'd like to field our youth team and somehow get promoted. Much easier to root for.

(Btw, Clements' record of playing kids at Swansea and Derby is, well, look it up )

[CountryRoyal]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

[genome]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Ian Harte would like a word with you

[Denver Royal]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Ian Harte would like a word with you

So would McShane, out by the woodshed. I heard Gunter might show up, too.

[Double d v2]

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Ian Harte would like a word with you

So would McShane, out by the woodshed. I heard Gunter might show up, too.

Goater?

[Snowflake Royal]

Robert Huth is available on a free this summer. Wishful thinking I know but he would probably cover the Moore shaped hole we may have coming our way.
Other premier league freebies include a 34 year old Glen Johnson who surely can't be worse than Gunter right? Right?

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

[NewCorkSeth]

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

I get your point and agree with you for the most part but Roberts?

[SCIAG]

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

Roberts dramatically increased our chances of getting injured. Bridge had just had a great season with Brighton and played really well for us before an unfortunate injury. Not sure they're the best examples. Anton Ferdinand would probably be better (I assume that by "Ferdinand" you mean Les, who is an even better example).

I have no idea why you're throwing Martin in there. He's only 29 and has never been a Premier League player (5 appearances). He's a top-end Championship striker who isn't producing, rather than a former PL striker dropping down in the hope it will be easier.

[John Smith]

Say no to players whose careers are in a downward spiral and coming to an end.

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

Wayne Bridge was one of the best players I've seen in a Reading shirt. It was only bad luck with injuries that meant we didn't see more of him

[Double d v2]

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

Wayne Bridge was one of the best players I've seen in a Reading shirt. It was only bad luck with injuries that meant we didn't see more of him

You really are a fantastic troll

[Snowflake Royal]

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

I get your point and agree with you for the most part but Roberts?

Got about 20 games out of him for the cost of three seasons. This is not good value or something to aim for.

[Snowflake Royal]

Disagree. It’s about the right player though.

Any good team needs a balance of youth and experience.

There's a misunderstanding here. I'm not against experience. I'm against signing expensive 'names' well into the twilight of their career. Particularly if they have little Champ experience.

See Ferdinand, Keown, Roberts, Martin, Bridge, etc.

The players we can only hope to sign because they're no longer that good and looking for one last pay day. Plus the risk of long term injury and lack of recovery is higher.

Roberts dramatically increased our chances of getting injured. Bridge had just had a great season with Brighton and played really well for us before an unfortunate injury. Not sure they're the best examples. Anton Ferdinand would probably be better (I assume that by "Ferdinand" you mean Les, who is an even better example).

I have no idea why you're throwing Martin in there. He's only 29 and has never been a Premier League player (5 appearances). He's a top-end Championship striker who isn't producing, rather than a former PL striker dropping down in the hope it will be easier.

Martin - expensive, suspect attitude, downward spiral career wise.

Anton's also a good shout.
Bridge is still an example even though he looked quality (and is comparable to (Roberts)... Older players are more prone to injury and failure to return from injury the same or at all.

Our record in the area of signing 'names' like these is atrocious. For the most part, we just shouldn't.