Summer Rebuild

[melonhead]

yeah!

[WoodleyRoyal]

What did you expect?

This is all about the same people spouting the same shite they post every year at this time (even as we were preparing to amass a record 106pts ) when none of us can make the wildest guess about how much money there is to spend.

The kit man's gone so we must be broke

Some of you are truly priceless! Why not STFU until you actually have something to complain about?

^^POWER POST^^

[Baggie192]

48 pages later and we haven't starting rebuilding yet.

When I started this I had no idea it would go to 48 pages BEFORE the window opened I apologise

[floyd__streete]

Why not STFU until you actually have something to complain about?

Season starts on August 8th.

[TBM]

So does that mean they'll have a new shirt to put it on as well.

Unless they decide to iron it on over the Waitrose logo, i would say so....

[howser]

Well the story of wanting to complete our summer transfers early are true, we have got rid of fair few......................I am beginging to wonder just how many we are going to convince to come here, starting to look like we are in a bit of a mess for such a well run club.

[Ian Royal]

oxf*rd hell, even Keen sounds sure we're oxf*rd.

[LoyalRoyal22]

With the players that have left so far + Jem. We must have cleared more than 3m off the wage bill annually.

[LoyalRoyal22]

I think at the moment we need four signings minimum.

GK( Foderingham?)
CB( McShane)
CM(Quinn)
CF ?

Assuming we can get the three above on free transfers, that could leave some actual transfer funds to focus on a new forward

In August chuck in a couple of loan deals from Chelsea etc, things could be looking positive.

You could then (potentially) be looking at this

Foderingham

Gunter
McShane
Hector
Obita

Williams
Norwood
Quinn

McCleary
New CF
Fosu


Anderson
Kelly
Cooper
Kuhl
Akpan
Stacey
Pog

We could then still be left with... Blackman,Robson-Kanu,Cox, Samuel, Tanner, Tishbola + Any potential loan signings

With the right guidance something similar to the above squad is more than capable of making a play off push. If you look at Ipswich & Burnley on paper from years previous, even Reading under Brian.. It can be done

Happy summer all


Edit: Not forgetting Niall Keown & Jake Taylor. Happy to exclude Anton Ferdinand though.

[urz13]

Sorry, but that squad would be nowhere near up to a play off push. Any injuries to the average looking first team would have to be covered by either the dross we currently have or throwing youth players in once again which has very mixed results. Those 4 signings would be good, but I think, if you're being ambitious and talking about a playoff push, we need more like 7+ signings.... Plus Fosu can hardly be expected to be a first team regular after 60mins of football.

[Nameless]

We'd be nowhere near using youth players unless someone wiped out all our pros at training.
I can't recall the last time we used a youth team player in the first team.
The likes of Fosu, Stacey, Tanner, long, Tshbola are not youth team players.....

[royalp-we]

Steve Clarke interview on bbcrb this afternoon. Tim & Adie interviewed him from Ascot and he says he's after a senior defender, midfielder, goalkeeper and 2 strikers.

[Nameless]

Steve Clarke interview on bbcrb this afternoon. Tim & Adie interviewed him from Ascot and he says he's after a senior defender, midfielder, goalkeeper and 2 strikers.

Makes sense. If he gets them the squad would be fine. Unless of course they are all over 40, suffering from long term injuries or based on HNA scouting tips.....

Assume lie last season we see some of the youngsters make their mark and I can only see the title being between us and Derby.

[Sutekh]

Steve Clarke interview on bbcrb this afternoon. Tim & Adie interviewed him from Ascot and he says he's after a senior defender, midfielder, goalkeeper and 2 strikers.

So pretty much what we all think we need so he's in tune with us. So let's say that Quinn, McShane and Jones or Foderingham. That leaves the hardest part.... 2 strikers, and our interest has supposedly cooled on Sa.

[melonhead]

Well the story of wanting to complete our summer transfers early are true, we have got rid of fair few......................I am beginging to wonder just how many we are going to convince to come here, starting to look like we are in a bit of a mess for such a well run club.

Did u miss anyone coming in, spending loads on shit, then pissing off and us nearly going out of business??

[JIM]

Quite right "melonhead" I fear this club is getting a reputation for looking after deadbeats and injured players, I just hope the club look more into medical records cause we cant afford to be known as a retirement home, for hasbeens,

[LoyalRoyal22]

Looking at some of the quotes from Clarke, if we don't sign 2/3 new players in the next week then the Thai's are to blame. He really put the pressure on. I guess we going to find out about how serious they are about pushing the club on.

Got to say I'm sceptical.

[Ian Royal]

We'd be nowhere near using youth players unless someone wiped out all our pros at training.
I can't recall the last time we used a youth team player in the first team.
The likes of Fosu, Stacey, Tanner, long, Tshbola are not youth team players.....

Could you expand on that slightly, what's your definition of a youth team player?

Or is this some sort of joke?

[Nameless]

It's pretty obvious Ian.
Youth football is under 18. That is the definition within the game of 'youth' football. So anyone no longer eligible to play for our u18 team is not a youth team player.
The U21 team is not a youth team.
I understand that people use 'youth' as a short hand for 'not yet an established first team player' , but that leads to players who are 20 + being labelled as 'youth' players when actually they are all grown up, probably drive cars and have their own houses. I actually think some of them are probably quite old enough and good enough to be thrown into the first team and allowed to play without constant reference to their age. Some probably are not, but then some players are never going to be first team material how ever long they hang around the club.
I'm not sure we have many, if any, youth team players who will get near the first team this season, I think Novakovic won't be an an U18 next season and he was the only one who was close last year. Even he plays international football at u20 level so is clearly somewhat advanced for his age !

Maybe it's just me but I think referring to Kuhl, Fosu, Tshbola et Al as 'youth team' players demeans them , and is just factually wrong

[SCIAG]

We'd be nowhere near using youth players unless someone wiped out all our pros at training.
I can't recall the last time we used a youth team player in the first team.
The likes of Fosu, Stacey, Tanner, long, Tshbola are not youth team players.....

You've already mentioned Novakovich.
The last time one started a match was Jordan Obita v Charlton, 23rd August 2011, but even that was a League Cup game.
For the last time an U18 started a league match for us, I think you have to go back to Shane Long's first season at the club, which was 10 years ago... he started our 3-1 victory over Stoke, when fellow youth team players Simon Cox and Scott Golbourne came off the bench. Even that was a fairly unique occasion, a club having won the title with six matches to spare and being confident their reserves would turn over a mid-table side.