supersonic

2 factors as to why we only finished 7th rather than higher in my opinion: 1 - FF injury. We lost a lot of defensive stability when he went. 2 - Pelle going missing for half the season. Whether your a fan of his or not, no team can afford to have their main striker go missing for the length of time he dos and expect to still be successful. We're a better team than Spurs however the only reason they finished above us is Harry Kane's consistency.

2 of which were open goals.... Austin is a better central forward than we have at the club. A forward 3 of him, Mane and Jrod would be a huge improvement on this year's

We'll do extremely well to get anything from this game. 3-1 defeat.

number 3 is the funniest.

I was answering a question on how Reading have done post-Adkins, surely the opinions of Reading STH's who watch their team every week deserve to be respected as they'll know better than anyone how they have fared. It can also be argued that our fanbase is a strange bunch. As for Clarke, he's had one transfer window with zero funds and has inherited a squad with "a losing mentality" which he managed to get to the FA Cup semi-final (which they could so easily have won). As I've previously stated, Adkins did well for us, however I have an opinion on him and it's not that he's as perfect or legendary as others may feel. Not a club legend by any stretch of the imagination, to mention him in the same breathe as MLT is ludicrous. Paul Lambert did what NA did, and did it better, yet he has a pretty bad reputation at the moment.

Adkins did well at Saints, there's no denying that, however he isn't a legend. He inherited a good side from the Pardew regime which the foundations were already laid. Granted he still had to get us promoted but the cynic in me still feels he cost us the championship title due to his naivety. It's also key to remember that as quickly as NA took a side from League 1 to the Premier league, he very nearly took a side from the Premier League to League 1 as quick (all RFC fans I know think they would have been relegated this season under him!)

I work in Reading and there are about a dozen STH in my office. Adkins has come up in conversation quite frequently and ALL of them say Reading are far better under Clarke than they were Adkins. Unanimous agreement that Reading play better football, are defensively better and the players look more fired up since NA left the club. They also highlight how much better Clarke is tactically than Adkins.

Having met both, and know people who have worked with both, Ramsey is overwhelmingly the better coach - It's more of a shame for CR that he's got the QPR job, has the ability to go a long way in the game but, as others have said, the QPR job is a poisoned chalice so think this may damage his reputation. Many people in the game are aware of NA's tactical issues and I believe it's one of the reason's he hasn't been offered a job yet. Are you mad? Far more people who have contributed more to Saints than Adkins. Did a good job here but not a legend and certainly not the best alongside the other 2 names you mentioned. Both a deluded statement and an insult to others from our history.

No great loss to us if he goes. Extremely unimpressed when I first saw him play and have seen nothing since to change my mind.

Now this is where the tough work starts - i'd snap a clubs hand off for £20m

According to a clearly still excited AFCB fan on Facebook, they are now favourites to sign Ings and Austin, Boruc will stay with them and will likely sign Yoshida, Bolasie and Delph....

Very good side - work with a Watford fan who advised me to bet on them winning the league in January. Nice 12/1 odds back then. Just the small task of beating Sheff Wed at home left. Decent away day too - however, with our inability to defend out-wide yesterday we could struggle on such a big pitch.

Ings will score goals whilst Pelle just wanders around throwing his arms around doing sweet FA as per usual

Yes, Vilhena. There have been the big club links to Classie but I think (and stand to be corrected) but he's the one who's decided to stay in Holland to aid his development. The Koeman link is obvious and I heard big rumours that we had him lined up if Morgan left last year. It does seem as if Koeman has "tapped" him up hence his reluctance to leave in summer/January. Morgan + Davis out. Classie + Vilhena in (failing that McCarthy at Everton)

What else shall we judge him on then? Assists? - Appalling Shots per game - Below Average Fouls committed - quite high % of Headers won - shocking for a big man Pass % - Very Bad

I didn't realise he had a career to retire from...

but looking at it the other way, imagine us giving him a bumper 5 year deal and him turning out to no get anywhere near the form he had...

Let's see if he can get back to form first. Glad he's back but that's not even half the battle

We'll lose to Stoke and City. We'll finish 7th and celebrate a great season. Shame we don't have any decent fit strikers - or I genuinely think we'd be in the top 4 still.

Tadic doesn't exactly fill me with confidence on penalties. 2/3 this year isn't bad and the one he missed was from a cracking save rather than a poor penalty. However, the 2 he's scored have been down the middle. JWP looked confident stepping up and strikes a decent ball. Gerrard/Lampard are similar midfielders who take penalties and have fairly decent records. As people have said, Pelle's penalty record is pretty poor and some strikers just don't fancy them (Jason Dodd and Leighton Baines have a better record than Michael Owen for example)

I truly hope Sunderland go down. They offer nothing to the premier league and haven't done for a number of seasons. horrible place, horrible people. Fed up with their fans walking out every-other week when they let in a 3rd goal and employ poor manager after poor manager. I think if they go down it could very much turn into a Leeds/Blackpool situation. They have far too many players who are average at best on ridiculous contracts. Apart from Pantilimon and maybe Defoe/Jones I don't see many clubs being interested in any of their players. Hope Burnley stay up - I like Dyche - he's a refreshing manager who tries to do things the right way.

Benteke would be ideal - knows the league - big, busy striker who knows where the goal is. Massive upgrade on those we have at the club already. Classie would be an adequate replacement for Morgan, we have also (reportedly) signed Vilhena let's not forget.

not a chance.

absolute pile of garbage

To answer the original post, we need a keeper - perhaps give Boruc a 1-yr extension? Looks as if Clyne and Morgan will go - Classie will be an able replacement - think Trippier or Byram would be decent signings. Latest reports state TA to be kept by Atletico so another CB needed - that Van Dyjk (sp?) at Celtic looks impressive. Striking options are crucial. If we had a decent forward line we'd still be in with a shout of CL football. Long has never scored consistently enough in the PL and Pelle simply isn't good enough.