SIGNED - Anton Ferdinand

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Shit transfer: I feel as underwhelmed by this as by the Martin Keown or Drenthe signings.

When will we get somebody good?

Underwhelmed is good. It usually means it ends up working out.

Our 'marquee' signings have historically been a complete fcuking disaster.

Just out of interest - who do you think would be realistic targets for us?

[Royality creeps In]

Shit transfer: I feel as underwhelmed by this as by the Martin Keown or Drenthe signings.

When will we get somebody good?

+1
I have seen this player on several occasions playing for the opposition. He was Fkin awful.

[Ian Royal]

Excellent signing, offers the experience we need at the back. Massive welcome Anton and best wishes.

In terms of experience he doesn't offer anything that Pearce doesn't offer. What we need at the back is a bit of pace and a cool head. No idea if he offers either of those .

Offers experience = nearly 300 prem appearances. Played against the best in the prem ... Not sure our two homegrown lads can claim the same in terms of experience.

I agree, but Pearce does have over 200 league appearances, 19 in the PL, about 150 in the Champ. That's plenty of experience in itself.

[Ian Royal]

Will happily admit that I'm not overly pleased by this but that my view is almost entirely irrational. Partly for the West Ham & QPR links, partly for who is brother is and mostly because I just don't like his face.

My only genuine concern is if this has been forced on Adkins by the Thais. Oh yeah, and he hasn't really played for ages and is obviously on the decline or he'd still be playing in the Prem.

Wait, wait, you are irrationally displeased because his brother was a world-class defender?

I am also irrationally unhappy. Every minute Ferdinand plays is one that can't be played by a player I have already emotionally invested in. Hopefully he's good enough to make up for not seeing academy graduates given a chance.

No, I'm partially irrationally displeased, because I think his brother was prick.

[Man Friday]

What is it with "Antons" at this club? The last one was a waste of space. Let's hope this one is better.

[No Hoops]

Why do we have to wait for international clearance?

Club saying few weeks from fitness plus international clearance.















ps I'm pissed

[Nameless]

Excellent signing, offers the experience we need at the back. Massive welcome Anton and best wishes.

In terms of experience he doesn't offer anything that Pearce doesn't offer. What we need at the back is a bit of pace and a cool head. No idea if he offers either of those .

Offers experience = nearly 300 prem appearances. Played against the best in the prem ... Not sure our two homegrown lads can claim the same in terms of experience. And I agree with you we do need some pace at the back but right now Anton is what we have

Anton has played 260 first team games, suspect not all of those are in the Prem, Pearce has played 220. Seeing as we are playing in the Championship and everyone talks about how different it is to the Prem then Championship experience is more valuable than Prem experience right now !

Whatever, let's see him play a few games and then judge. I wish him well

[Terminal Boardom]

I don't get the general meh at this signing. Experienced and will more than offer competition to what is currently there. I like this signing. And if Ian Royal doesn't like him then he must be good.

[Wycombe Royal]

Why do we have to wait for international clearance?

Club saying few weeks from fitness plus international clearance.















ps I'm pissed

Because his last club was in Turkey.

[kwik-silva]

and footballers have to be quarantined for a few weeks when you bring them in from abroad.

[seahawk10]

Does this mean we can't sing our "we don't care about Anton..." song?

We ALL care about Anton!
(oxf*rd YA)
He does care about me!
(YES)
All we care about is Reading FC

[kwik-silva]

We don't care about Anton!
[ZINGAREVICH]

[P!ssed Off]

Oh shit...
That was our best song as well.

[Royal Ginger]

"It feels fantastic to sign. The first thing you feel when you come here is that it's a family environment.
"I've got things to prove, to myself and everyone. A lot of people have written me off and doubted me because I've been away for a year, but I'm here to prove to people that I can offer a lot to English football. I want to offer what I can to Reading, and hopefully that means promotion.
"I'm champing at the bit to play my first game. I don't know when that will be as I'm lacking match fitness - I'm a bit behind the boys. I'm going to train hard, and when the gaffer thinks I'm ready, then I'll be ready."

Saying all the right stuff (of course he would why wouldn't he). As long as he's not demanding a starting place based on rep alone, I'm happy for him to get a chance.

[phil in cornwall]

He's only played 10 games since January 2013. That's less than one every six weeks.

[Hoop Blah]

I don't get the general meh at this signing. Experienced and will more than offer competition to what is currently there. I like this signing. And if Ian Royal doesn't like him then he must be good.

I'd say part of the meh'ness is based on him being perceived as a bit of a tit and a typical modern celebrity footballer (perhaps incorrectly).

More of it is probably based on the downward spiral of his career over the last few years and the fact he'd only played about a dozen games in the last 18 months and hardly played for his team last year despite them finished second bottom in Turkey.

He was pretty decent 4 or 5 years ago but something seems to have effected his form over the last couple of seasons. Hopefully we're a real chance for him to get back to his best for the last few years of his career but I'm not convinced unfortunately.

[bobby1413]

I don't agree with judging a player only on their recent performances or a slump in form.

Like anyone, they are effected by lots of things, problems with their managers, clash of personalities, personal issues, etc...

There's no reason why he isn't capable of finding great form and settling right in.

[Nameless]

The Ferdinands join the Webbs at the top of the 'number of family members at RFC' league.

Nah, we had three related Webbs (Anton has played just as much as Josh!), who sit top alongside the Hunt-Doyle dynasty and probably another family or two. The Ferdinands don't stand out from the Kellys, Keowns, Wagstaffs, and the cousins Ívar and Gunnar, to name a few. Do the Forster-Caskeys count? Or the Kuhls?

We've had 3 members of the Ferdinand family at the club, Les's son was with us briefly a few years back.
Like the inclusion of the Hunt / Doyle set up, although think it's stretching things a little to call them 'family'
Going back a long way Peter Sylvester married Roger Smee's sister so they should be in there with the two family member list

[Winston Smith]

Fair few brothers have played for us over the years

[Hoop Blah]

I don't agree with judging a player only on their recent performances or a slump in form.

Like anyone, they are effected by lots of things, problems with their managers, clash of personalities, personal issues, etc...

There's no reason why he isn't capable of finding great form and settling right in.

That's a fair point. Lots of bargains can be had by buying a player who's out of sorts at one club but just needs a fresh environment to get back to previous form. Hopefully that's the case with Ferdinand but, the thing that worries me, is that his slump has been over 2 years and seemingly at 3 different clubs.

I think there was a soundbite on the radio this morning that suggested he didn't settle or enjoy playing in Turkey and so was pleased to be back in England. Maybe that's the kick up the arse he needs to kick start his career. I still think he may have been effected by all the John Terry controversy and fell out of love with football over here for a while, hence him leaving QPR for Turkey in the first place.