Have Reading done enough this transfer window?

[Woodcote Royal]

Or, he knew Coppell would never him a chance until Leroy had gone five years without hitting the back of the net.

[BR2]

I think the question of Cox is an interesting one.
He scored goals galore for Swindon at the 3rd level and made an initial impact with West Brom at the 2nd level but is not a regular starter for them.
He would probably have done better for us now that we are playing at this level but I agree with Spacey that he was a long way behind Doyle and Kitson and probably behind Lita as well but I would have kept him instead of Long-that's not just hindsight as I feel that Long is not good enough even for this level .

[Woodcote Royal]

It had everything to do with Coppell's inability to move on from his "106" and Cox knowing that all of Doyle, Kitson, Lita and Long would have needed to be down to one leg before he would get a chance.

None of the above were playing that well at the time and he should have been more in the frame than he was.

[Hoop Blah]

Can't say I can agree that Bignall has shown such great potential WR. He did ok against a very poor Burton side, but apart from that hasn't really done anything to suggest he can play at this level YET.

I could see a case for his run out against Barnsley though.

As for the Cox situation. I don't agree he was miles away from the likes of Doyle and Kitson at the time he left. We were struggling to score goals and he looked like a breath of fresh air against Spurs and had proven he had an ability to score goals. I think he should've either been involved or at least made to think he would be. Coppell wasn't going to give him a chance though, and for that was a mistake.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

You feel a lot more confident with a striker who you had faith in getting 10 goals. I know it's hard to compare direct but I would have seen a striker as a higher priority than defensive cover.

But like others have said the window is still open, maybe we can do something else, would not hold my breath.

[Mr Angry]

We will only know if we have done enough in this transfer window at the end of the season; if we stay up, then the answer is yes. If we get relegated, the answer will be no.

Onviously we needed to bring in a goal-scoring striker, but Thor might well be that man - he has only had a few run-outs so far and has said that he is getting used to the pace of the game here; even Ronaldo took time to adapt fully when he first came her, as do pretty well every overseas player.

Even if things don't work out, we still have till the end of March to bring someone in on an emergency loan.

Griffin has looked a very useful player at this level; as well as bringing solidity to the back line he has an assist (for Siggy's goal v. Burnley) and a key pass (his cross from the by-line led to Long's goal on Sat) as an attacking fullback.

[Vision]

So much of football and life (philosophical or what?) is about timing.

My opinion is simply that like most people at the club at the time Cox didn't think we'd get relegated. If he thought we were going to be playing Championship football the following season he may well have hung around for another half a season or gone back out on loan again. It wasn't like he gave himself much time to prove himself above those players on his return anyway. We played 3 Premiership games when he was back against Villa, Man Utd & Chelsea & then he left.

I'm the first person on here to talk about playing the youngsters but at 19 years old he really could have given himself a bit more time to break into a side which on his return was 12th in the Premiership and with 3 strikers who at the time all had decent Premiership scoring records (+ Long as a sub). Ideally of course he should have warmed the bench while Long went out on loan (or even given a slot at right midfield) but even if that happened who knows what the outcome would have been.

I think he would have been the ideal replacement when Kitson was sold last season but once again thats only conjecture and it may well have been that it for the best that he played and scored plenty in the 3rd tier for an extra season. As things stand he's no more proven at this level than Shane Long is really even if I've no doubt he will go on to bigger and better things.

[Ian Royal]

It had everything to do with Coppell's inability to move on from his "106" and Cox knowing that all of Doyle, Kitson, Lita and Long would have needed to be down to one leg before he would get a chance.

None of the above were playing that well at the time and he should have been more in the frame than he was.

Yeah, he really kept faith in Lita!
& Long remained a sub only the majority of his time until the end of last season with Hunt coming in ahead of him. Coppell also tried Church out.

There are examples all over the pitch where Coppell didn't stick with his 106 squad through absolutely everything. It's a fair criticism to lay that he was too loyal and conservative with his players. But what exactly has Cox done in the two seasons since he left to show he deserved to play in the Premier League for us? Just for you, the answer is very little.

[Hoop Blah]

Ian, Cox has since shown that he could score exceptional goals and create for others.

Yes it was at a lower level, but at the time he left we were struggling to score or create and we were crying out for something a bit different. At the time (because that's all that matters not what he's done before) he looked much more likely to add something to the first team than Oster, Kebe or any of the other 6 or 7 (or however many it was) players we tried on the right wing.

That's where the mistake was from RFCs point of view.

[RoyalBlue]

If a certain manager had been prepared to give a chance to a striker now playing for West Brom our current problem might be non existent.

How could he? Cox had to compete with Kitson, Doyle, Lita and Long. And Premiership wasn't his level yet. Cox wasn't prepared to wait and probably at the time didn't think Reading would be relegated.

He could have made sure Cox stayed contracted to us and then lent him out on a season long loans at a decent level to continue his development, prior to making it in our first team. It's what other PL teams do.

As for our current activities, I fear the lack of willingness to invest now in a decent proven goalscorer at this level (either on loan or bought outright) will cost us far, far, more than the investment that would have been required.

Instead McDermott has decided to wait to see whether our existing strikers can eventually start to convert a decent percentage of the numerous chances they are presented with. If they don't ,then he has said he will try to get someone on loan but by then the gap to survival may be too big for us to close.

[rhroyal]

Ian, Cox has since shown that he could score exceptional goals and create for others.

Yes it was at a lower level, but at the time he left we were struggling to score or create and we were crying out for something a bit different. At the time (because that's all that matters not what he's done before) he looked much more likely to add something to the first team than Oster, Kebe or any of the other 6 or 7 (or however many it was) players we tried on the right wing.

That's where the mistake was from RFCs point of view.

That's the key. Has since shown. How much had he shown in 07/08? It would have been a desperate stab in the dark if Coppell had played him, which maybe is appropriate considering all the other blind stabs we tried there that season.

[Dirk Gently]

He could, but Coppell was too fair and decent to his players to do that.

Effectively, he said to Cox "You have a choice - I can't see you playing in the first team for at least a couple of seasons - you can stay and fight for a place here with no guarantees, or you can try your luck elsewhere."

I think anyone in that situation would have done what Cox did.

[Vision]

If a certain manager had been prepared to give a chance to a striker now playing for West Brom our current problem might be non existent.

How could he? Cox had to compete with Kitson, Doyle, Lita and Long. And Premiership wasn't his level yet. Cox wasn't prepared to wait and probably at the time didn't think Reading would be relegated.

He could have made sure Cox stayed contracted to us and then lent him out on a season long loans at a decent level to continue his development, prior to making it in our first team. It's what other PL teams do.

Cox himself said he did not want to go back out on loan again. We could of course have forced him to see out his contract but I'm not sure that would have helped anyone.

[Vision]

He could, but Coppell was too fair and decent to his players to do that.

Effectively, he said to Cox "You have a choice - I can't see you playing in the first team for at least a couple of seasons - you can stay and fight for a place here with no guarantees, or you can try your luck elsewhere."

I think anyone in that situation would have done what Cox did.

Only because no one seemed to entertain the possibility of relegation.

[Dirk Gently]

He could, but Coppell was too fair and decent to his players to do that.

Effectively, he said to Cox "You have a choice - I can't see you playing in the first team for at least a couple of seasons - you can stay and fight for a place here with no guarantees, or you can try your luck elsewhere."

I think anyone in that situation would have done what Cox did.

Only because no one seemed to entertain the possibility of relegation.

And rightly so, at the time. It's only because of Fulham's astounding revival that we were relegated.

[Hoop Blah]

Not rightly so Dirk, the way we were playing a drift into the relegation zone was always a strong possibility because we were never that many points clear of it (positions in the league yes but not points IIRC). We stood still (actually we probably went backwards in terms of quality and our approach to the season) whilst all our competitors tried to move forwards and with that attitude your just asking for trouble.

Every season there is at least one club that gets drawn into the relegation battle who you'd have thought would be safe. They're usually the ones the rest on their laurals, just like we did.

That's the key. Has since shown. How much had he shown in 07/08?

It would have been a desperate stab in the dark if Coppell had played him, which maybe is appropriate considering all the other blind stabs we tried there that season.

Not a desperate stab in the dark at all. Cox had played in midfield a fair bit during his time at Reading, and his performance against Spurs in the cup was 10 times that of any of his rivals had managed that season. That coupled with his record out on loan, and in fact in pre-season that summer, was enough to know that he was worth giving a run. He certainly looked a better bet than Jimmy Kebe or John Oster!

[floyd__streete]

To answer the original question - not really. The major problem as I see it is the forward options; mediocre at best. Ipswich signed Healy on transfer deadline day, a proven goalscorer at this level. They were only 3 points ahead of us in the table, and whilst I concede that the Keane-factor may have held sway I'd be surprised if RFC even made so much as a telephone call to Sunderland. Ipswich as I say are only 3 points ahead of us but with Stead and Healy I'd back them to finish above us.

[facaldaqui]

long can go, but give Church a chance ffs. It's his first full season in the CCC and he's in a pretty poor team. his movement is second to none in our side, goals will come.

No, I think we should get shot of Long and Church in the summer. The goals will NOT come with Church: ever. You've either got it or you haven't. Yes, his movement and effort are superb, but we are wasting our time if we decide to persevere with him. Sorry, but that's how I see it.

[brendywendy]

Ian, Cox has since shown that he could score exceptional goals and create for others.

Yes it was at a lower level, but at the time he left we were struggling to score or create and we were crying out for something a bit different. At the time (because that's all that matters not what he's done before) he looked much more likely to add something to the first team than Oster, Kebe or any of the other 6 or 7 (or however many it was) players we tried on the right wing.

That's where the mistake was from RFCs point of view.

cannot agree


hes scored at league 1 level
and has scored, but failed to nail down a regular place at championship level
thats this year.
i have no idea why you think he therefore would have made a difference 2 years ago at premiere league level

[brendywendy]

It had everything to do with Coppell's inability to move on from his "106" and Cox knowing that all of Doyle, Kitson, Lita and Long would have needed to be down to one leg before he would get a chance.

None of the above were playing that well at the time and he should have been more in the frame than he was.

every one of those strikers was dropped on more than one occasion by coppell
& it was more to do with the supply that we went down