Poll: Recruitment

[Mid Sussex Royal]

You take everything with a pinch of salt but from the interview, Couhig seems to making it clear that there were a number of deals that were close that fell through, not because of the financials but because the player wanted a different challenge etc and his comments at that end were very much - Leam will get what he needs.

So yes, I think the club will be busy now looking to get deals agreed for players to arrive as close to New Year as possible - of course the nature of transfer windows means there will be a lot of business done right at the end of the month too.

Yet in other interviews he has stated that deals fell through due to players wanting more money after seeing the training ground. So some deals did fall through due to financial reasons.

The Couhig-Dellor thing goes back to last year when Dellor was unquestioningly parroting everything Dai said in the press and effectively briefed against Couhig, particularly around the whole Bearwood thing.

At the time, Couhig said "The truth will out eventually" and the truth has largely vindicated Couhig's version of events.

He doesn't trust Dellor and I'm not remotely surprised. Dellor hasn't exactly covered himself in glory over that past 18 months.

Did Couhig reach out to give his side of the story? If he did, and the request was ignored, then fair enough for being mad. If he didn't then he could've reached out to Dellor to give his version of events. He found his way to Bournemuff4evas youtube channel easily enough.

You could ask the same question of Dellor. Did he reach out to Couhig? As a journalist, that's his job.

As an aside, I'd also say Couhig's personal wealth is irrelevant. He's always talked from day one about bringing other investors on board. I'd also say that there's a sub section of supporters who have been anti Couhig ever since the proposed sale of Bearwood was proposed. Dellor was very much presenting Couhig as the villain of the piece in that whole situation.

It's also ironic that someone is defending the honesty and integrity of Howe considering what he got banned for last year.

Has Couhig got everything right, far from it but I've seen nothing so far to suggest he's not acting in good faith.

It was unprofessional in the extreme of Dellor if that's what he reported (as said by Brogue earlier) without doing any diligence first which as a journalist is his job.

A quick internet search would reveal Couhig as just outside the top 500 billionaires globally and I assume he was likely sitting on cash following the sale of Wycombe.

[morganb]

Just noticed that all the players we recruited in the summer came straight in and were not on trial with us first

However we did have several players on trial but didn't sign any of them

Does this imply anything -

Should we have trial the ones we signed before signing them?

Did we waste time trialing the wrong players seeing as we ended up taking none of them?

[Stranded]

Just noticed that all the players we recruited in the summer came straight in and were not on trial with us first

However we did have several players on trial but didn't sign any of them

Does this imply anything -

Should we have trial the ones we signed before signing them?

Did we waste time trialing the wrong players seeing as we ended up taking none of them?

Triallists are always punts to nothing and one has to incredible in training - though yes it could be argued we wasted some time on then esp as one has now retired due to injuries (Morrell) and another (Ferguson) apparently picked up another major injury whilst training with us.

[stealthpapes]

Triallists have practically zero cost.

But they're players who have otherwise fallen through the cracks and you used to rarely get any idea who they actually were.
As noted elsewhere, Morrell had barely played for a few years and has now retired. I think we had Walcott here one summer and he chose to retire instead. There's a list from summer 2023 posted on the board.

IIRC Federici was essentially a triallist when he started at RFC.

[Sutekh]

Triallists have practically zero cost.

But they're players who have otherwise fallen through the cracks and you used to rarely get any idea who they actually were.
As noted elsewhere, Morrell had barely played for a few years and has now retired. I think we had Walcott here one summer and he chose to retire instead. There's a list from summer 2023 posted on the board.

IIRC Federici was essentially a triallist when he started at RFC.

Didn't he start out as an amateur with Reading or something, seem to remember something different about him when he joined initially but really can't remember the specifics?

Federici's best Reading moment at about 2 mins

[Snowflake Royal]

Not saying it was him, but had a check on how Bowler is doing at Blackpool and his stats were extremely unimpressive

May have dodged a bullet there

All the reports indicated it was him I thought.

Done deal from the usually reliable (on this at that time) Brogue. Unexplainable delays. Unofficial confirmation that this was happening without naming anyone. Then it all went quiet and he went elsewhere.

Can't think who else it could have been

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Triallists have practically zero cost.

But they're players who have otherwise fallen through the cracks and you used to rarely get any idea who they actually were.
As noted elsewhere, Morrell had barely played for a few years and has now retired. I think we had Walcott here one summer and he chose to retire instead. There's a list from summer 2023 posted on the board.

IIRC Federici was essentially a triallist when he started at RFC.

Didn't he start out as an amateur with Reading or something, seem to remember something different about him when he joined initially but really can't remember the specifics?

Federici's best Reading moment at about 2 mins

I think at one stage he was training with us, unpaid, and was sleeping on Sonko's sofa.

[Clyde1998]

Very good new Couhig interview on YouTube which talks through the recruitment as well as Noel/Leam

Difficult to argue with to be fair and very honest

link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8I6sXSd0FUE

Very interesting. Do feel that RC wanted to change manager when he took over but, because NH did so well last season, didn't feel he could. He then probably didn't give him as much backroom support as he could have (or NH didn't ask for it?) resulting in NH not doing as well this season and resulting in a change of manager now. Just my view of the situation....

That's how I interpret that: he would've replaced Hunt from the beginning had he felt he'd been able to - "I usually go into a new organisation and decimate the top".

Whether or not that meant he wasn't backed adequately when it came to the backroom staff or not, we'll probably never know. They certainly seem to be giving Richardson greater backing with his staff than they gave Hunt from the people coming in.

[Sutekh]

link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8I6sXSd0FUE

Very interesting. Do feel that RC wanted to change manager when he took over but, because NH did so well last season, didn't feel he could. He then probably didn't give him as much backroom support as he could have (or NH didn't ask for it?) resulting in NH not doing as well this season and resulting in a change of manager now. Just my view of the situation....

That's how I interpret that: he would've replaced Hunt from the beginning had he felt he'd been able to - "I usually go into a new organisation and decimate the top".

Whether or not that meant he wasn't backed adequately when it came to the backroom staff or not, we'll probably never know. They certainly seem to be giving Richardson greater backing with his staff than they gave Hunt from the people coming in.

Seems daft to me, deliberately sabotaging your own business just to get someone out whom you could remove easily enough anyway.

Even RC knows football is a fickle results business and Noel may well have been able to call the right shots as much as anyone else. Hoping Noel will soon get a role elsewhere and prove to be a roaring success.

[Hound]

I think that ‘ruthless’ comment from Couhig a few weeks ago, very much pointed to keeping Hunt on despite their misgivings at the time

Tbf quite a few of us interpreted it that way at the time.

[Vision]

Very interesting. Do feel that RC wanted to change manager when he took over but, because NH did so well last season, didn't feel he could. He then probably didn't give him as much backroom support as he could have (or NH didn't ask for it?) resulting in NH not doing as well this season and resulting in a change of manager now. Just my view of the situation....

That's how I interpret that: he would've replaced Hunt from the beginning had he felt he'd been able to - "I usually go into a new organisation and decimate the top".

Whether or not that meant he wasn't backed adequately when it came to the backroom staff or not, we'll probably never know. They certainly seem to be giving Richardson greater backing with his staff than they gave Hunt from the people coming in.

Seems daft to me, deliberately sabotaging your own business just to get someone out whom you could remove easily enough anyway.

Even RC knows football is a fickle results business and Noel may well have been able to call the right shots as much as anyone else. Hoping Noel will soon get a role elsewhere and prove to be a roaring success.

It might not be too wide of the mark though that he might not necessarily trust Hunt’s judgment in terms of recruitment, which seems to be Hunt’s main issue.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Very interesting. Do feel that RC wanted to change manager when he took over but, because NH did so well last season, didn't feel he could. He then probably didn't give him as much backroom support as he could have (or NH didn't ask for it?) resulting in NH not doing as well this season and resulting in a change of manager now. Just my view of the situation....

That's how I interpret that: he would've replaced Hunt from the beginning had he felt he'd been able to - "I usually go into a new organisation and decimate the top".

Whether or not that meant he wasn't backed adequately when it came to the backroom staff or not, we'll probably never know. They certainly seem to be giving Richardson greater backing with his staff than they gave Hunt from the people coming in.

Seems daft to me, deliberately sabotaging your own business just to get someone out whom you could remove easily enough anyway.

Even RC knows football is a fickle results business and Noel may well have been able to call the right shots as much as anyone else. Hoping Noel will soon get a role elsewhere and prove to be a roaring success.

Yeah, it seems a bit Flat Earther to think Couhig deliberately set Noel up to fail so he could fire him and lavish a new manager with funding. More likely he tried to be frugal but the club flirting with relegation gave him the willies - perhaps he's just loosening the purse strings a touch.

I don't think we should be knocking him for course-correcting.

[Snowflake Royal]

Very good new Couhig interview on YouTube which talks through the recruitment as well as Noel/Leam

Difficult to argue with to be fair and very honest

link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8I6sXSd0FUE

Agree or disagree with him, you can’t fault his commitment to engagement and transparency.

No mindless cliches there. Just a frank conversation.

And lol at how much Dellor's burnt his bridge with the club.

[The Royal Forester]

Very good new Couhig interview on YouTube which talks through the recruitment as well as Noel/Leam

Difficult to argue with to be fair and very honest

link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8I6sXSd0FUE

Agree or disagree with him, you can’t fault his commitment to engagement and transparency.

No mindless cliches there. Just a frank conversation.

And lol at how much Dellor's burnt his bridge with the club.

Glad you are able to lol but have you considered what else is on offer?
The club media department? No one there will question what statements the club puts out.
The Reading Chronicle? It takes them several days to even put out a match report so are not interested in RFC anymore. It won’t be long before they join
The Evening Post/Get Reading? in being gone, forgotten and never to return.
The Tilehurst End? They do a reasonable job of repeating items from other sites but do not send reporters to the club. There are fans so I wouldn’t expect them to
RDG.today? Bit better than the Chron. but still slow with the news.
Tim has been a Royals supporter for many, many years, can you tell me of any supporter who has not, at some time. moaned about the club? The difference being that Tim has a wider audience. I do wonder if Tim is disliked by some fans is because he had a Public School upbringing, After all there are many people in this country who object to the so called “upper crust”. If BBCRB were banned from Bearwood/SCL where would we get our news etc. from?

[Esteban]

link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8I6sXSd0FUE

Agree or disagree with him, you can’t fault his commitment to engagement and transparency.

No mindless cliches there. Just a frank conversation.

And lol at how much Dellor's burnt his bridge with the club.

Glad you are able to lol but have you considered what else is on offer?
The club media department? No one there will question what statements the club puts out.
The Reading Chronicle? It takes them several days to even put out a match report so are not interested in RFC anymore. It won’t be long before they join
The Evening Post/Get Reading? in being gone, forgotten and never to return.
The Tilehurst End? They do a reasonable job of repeating items from other sites but do not send reporters to the club. There are fans so I wouldn’t expect them to
RDG.today? Bit better than the Chron. but still slow with the news.
Tim has been a Royals supporter for many, many years, can you tell me of any supporter who has not, at some time. moaned about the club? The difference being that Tim has a wider audience. I do wonder if Tim is disliked by some fans is because he had a Public School upbringing, After all there are many people in this country who object to the so called “upper crust”. If BBCRB were banned from Bearwood/SCL where would we get our news etc. from?

Yeah, it's a good point in general about the lack of decent local journalism and has been debated on a another thread. But half of his job must surely be building relationships within the club that are strong enough to allow him to ask difficult questions when needed, without burning bridges along the way. He's failed pretty spectacularly with Couhig and instead of trying to rebuild that bridge, he's published a couple of articles with petty comments that are bound to rancour.

I actually didn't mind him, but his recent showing looks a lot like he's thrown his toys out the pram, and ironically he's coming across as an entitled public schoolboy.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Agree or disagree with him, you can’t fault his commitment to engagement and transparency.

No mindless cliches there. Just a frank conversation.

And lol at how much Dellor's burnt his bridge with the club.

Glad you are able to lol but have you considered what else is on offer?
The club media department? No one there will question what statements the club puts out.
The Reading Chronicle? It takes them several days to even put out a match report so are not interested in RFC anymore. It won’t be long before they join
The Evening Post/Get Reading? in being gone, forgotten and never to return.
The Tilehurst End? They do a reasonable job of repeating items from other sites but do not send reporters to the club. There are fans so I wouldn’t expect them to
RDG.today? Bit better than the Chron. but still slow with the news.
Tim has been a Royals supporter for many, many years, can you tell me of any supporter who has not, at some time. moaned about the club? The difference being that Tim has a wider audience. I do wonder if Tim is disliked by some fans is because he had a Public School upbringing, After all there are many people in this country who object to the so called “upper crust”. If BBCRB were banned from Bearwood/SCL where would we get our news etc. from?

Yeah, it's a good point in general about the lack of decent local journalism and has been debated on a another thread. But half of his job must surely be building relationships within the club that are strong enough to allow him to ask difficult questions when needed, without burning bridges along the way. He's failed pretty spectacularly with Couhig and instead of trying to rebuild that bridge, he's published a couple of articles with petty comments that are bound to rancour.

I actually didn't mind him, but his recent showing looks a lot like he's thrown his toys out the pram, and ironically he's coming across as an entitled public schoolboy.

It looks like the Chronicle have finally appointed someone full time to replace James Earnshaw, and sounds like we're going to get more interviews/match reports/analysis than we've had in the past. There's certainly a gap there now to be filled....

[stealthpapes]

Didn't Selles give a fairly frank and detailed interview with, essentially, a random fan while in charge?

[Snowflake Royal]

link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=8I6sXSd0FUE

Agree or disagree with him, you can’t fault his commitment to engagement and transparency.

No mindless cliches there. Just a frank conversation.

And lol at how much Dellor's burnt his bridge with the club.

Glad you are able to lol but have you considered what else is on offer?
The club media department? No one there will question what statements the club puts out.
The Reading Chronicle? It takes them several days to even put out a match report so are not interested in RFC anymore. It won’t be long before they join
The Evening Post/Get Reading? in being gone, forgotten and never to return.
The Tilehurst End? They do a reasonable job of repeating items from other sites but do not send reporters to the club. There are fans so I wouldn’t expect them to
RDG.today? Bit better than the Chron. but still slow with the news.
Tim has been a Royals supporter for many, many years, can you tell me of any supporter who has not, at some time. moaned about the club? The difference being that Tim has a wider audience. I do wonder if Tim is disliked by some fans is because he had a Public School upbringing, After all there are many people in this country who object to the so called “upper crust”. If BBCRB were banned from Bearwood/SCL where would we get our news etc. from?

If you're relying on Dellor, you're in a desperate state already.

I thought Phil asked some fairly challenging questions of Couhig given he's ultimately an employee.

[Clyde1998]

Glad you are able to lol but have you considered what else is on offer?
The club media department? No one there will question what statements the club puts out.
The Reading Chronicle? It takes them several days to even put out a match report so are not interested in RFC anymore. It won’t be long before they join
The Evening Post/Get Reading? in being gone, forgotten and never to return.
The Tilehurst End? They do a reasonable job of repeating items from other sites but do not send reporters to the club. There are fans so I wouldn’t expect them to
RDG.today? Bit better than the Chron. but still slow with the news.
Tim has been a Royals supporter for many, many years, can you tell me of any supporter who has not, at some time. moaned about the club? The difference being that Tim has a wider audience. I do wonder if Tim is disliked by some fans is because he had a Public School upbringing, After all there are many people in this country who object to the so called “upper crust”. If BBCRB were banned from Bearwood/SCL where would we get our news etc. from?

Local journalism certainly has died off basically everywhere, as basically every media source has consolidated into big conglomerates. Realistically, the Chronicle and BBC Berks is what we have left.

It looks like the Chronicle have finally appointed someone full time to replace James Earnshaw, and sounds like we're going to get more interviews/match reports/analysis than we've had in the past. There's certainly a gap there now to be filled....

Good to see.