And so the close season hysteria has started. According to several newspapers, and other media reports, Reading are looking to sign Royston Drenthe, a football bad boy from Russian club Alania Vladikavkaz on a free transfer, and Gary Hooper, valued at around £8 million, from Celtic. Interesting though these rumours are, both seem to be very unlike the modern day RFC. Drenthe doesn't seem to have the temperament for the sort of club Reading are, and £8 million, or anything like that figure, seems to be well off Readings radar. Time will tell I suppose, but both signings seem miles away from Readings usual safety first approach.
If its a straight fight between hull and Reading,we must be favourite.Hooper is a southerner and we are in a much better location then the north.Hull city,no disrespects have not got a cat in hell's chance of staying up ,while we ,if the signings are true,could possibly go up again.So Reading,nice area,right next to London and Heathrow,good prospects,wealthy chairman,a manager who knows him and Hull,ever been there lol.
In Hoopers case I was thinking more about the cost than Hoopers personal choice. The thought of Reading paying in excess of £5 million for one player seems unlikely to me. Unless AtoZ is really intending to get his wallet out. Perhaps I'm too used to the old Reading way and not taking into account this wonderful new world so many of our fans seem to think we're entering. I'll believe it when I see it.
Looking more and more like Drenthe seems a reformed character!! "Moyes Saved me" - Toffees boss "was right in every way. I was not living like a professional player in Liverpool - I had no discipline at all. I hit rock bottom" Royston Drenthe has admitted Everton manager David Moyes saved him from ending up in the gutter. Despite the fact that Moyes sent the ex-Real Madrid star packing, Drenthe is grateful for the Scotâs hard words. âIt was David Moyes who has opened my eyes," said 25-year-old Drenthe, who moved to Alania Vladikavkaz, 1200 miles south of Moscow. âI am fighting for my last chance in life and in football. I have just lost a stone in weight. I can only say that Moyes was right in every way. I was not living like a professional player in Liverpool. I can try and come up with all sorts of excuses, but that is not fair on anyone. I look in the mirror and I have to admit that I had to stop living the way I did. All players love to go out and hit the town. But I had no discipline at all. I hit rock bottom. I was close to ending up on the street again where I once was before I *became a footballer.ââ Drenthe was caught on camera breaking into Evertonâs training ground with women. He also turned up for training smelling of booze. Drenthe said: âI was living in a *different world. And I realise I have ruined it all myself. I used to confront David Moyes, thinking I had the right to talk to him like that. But in hindsight, he was so right about me most times. Now I canât believe I blew it at *Everton. It is one of the most fantastic clubs in the Premier League. My *attitude and poor mentality are the reasons I ruined my career there.ââ
You deluded fool. We're in the Premier League, you're in the Championship, you're unlikely to interest him at all(particularly if he's ever been to Reading). You may know knothing about Hull, but Hooper lived round here for two years and knows exactly how nice East Yorkshire is. I don't think either of us will get him, our chances are slim, yours are non-existent.
"**** Hull City and the Premier League, **** Celtic and the Champions League; Reading is next to Heathrow!!"
Where he goes, if he goes anywhere at all, will be determined by where he gets the best deal. Reading aren't a club who parts with it money easily, as was clearly seen last season. Having said that, with the backing we now have, we could probably match the majority of championship sides and quite a few of the lower premiership sides. But I doubt we would be prepared to pay anything like the £8 million price Celtic are talking about. But thats not to say we couldn't. As one of your posters already said, its doubtful he'll go to either of our clubs. But after reading some of these comments, I'd get a certain amount of satisfaction if he did end up up at little championship club Reading, as opposed to massive premiership club Hull. Good luck next season, you're going to need it.
You wouldn't find a City fan being disrectful about Reading on our board, but while there's clowns like Hayes doing so on yours, then the responses are to be respected. You reap what you sow.
I know Hayes from our Royals Rendezvous forum mate. Believe me, he will go out of his way to avoid upsetting or disrespecting anyone, but he says it as he see's it. Take a look on RR and look at his posts and you'll see what I mean. It's a friendly site and everyone is welcome. Reading screwed up last season by not investing in the squad. Good luck to you next season, I hope you can learn from our mistakes
I just wondered if I could take this opportunity and ask Hull fans why the 'Hull City Fansite' [ http://hullcity.boardhost.com/index.php ] doesn't seem to have taken off as a forum? I was writing on there almost from the beginning and was promising - always on there 100% 'in peace' - and got on pretty well with the mod team, but looking at it last week it saddens me to see that it is almost devoid of posts lately. Which other site/s would you suggest as being a good bet for a gentle away fan? Cheers lads ...
There are several sites that are fairly busy(CI, Amber Nectar, HCO), but most tend to have only City fans posting. The only one that has fans of other clubs regularly mixing is this one, we've got almost 1,800 posters on here and you're welcome to pop over.
Thanks, originallambrettaman, yep, I'm only too conscious of not trying to stir things up on other team boards who are not used to away fans posting. OK, I'll take your advice and visit the Hull board on here then, hopefully it's in anticipation of games together in the premier one year on from now!
Except for the ones you guys drive away? You always harp on about how friendly you guys are. Yeah. If you're inside your own little old clique. Hilarious.
It's a very difficult tightrope to walk Maffff, we started with the old BBC606 Reading block of under 50, and there's now well over 10 times that amount though given on forums generally many don't actively post. But the more they are the harder the responsibilities are to get it right. I wasn't around at that unfortunate moment of RR explosion that I know did take place, but there are all on there from kids barely teenagers (and children of members) to senior citizens. I can't talk for the others, but at least when I refer to 'friendly forum' I'm doing it in my role as kind of unofficial 'outreach officer' on other forums - and to be accepted on over 50 other individual club forums with thousands of posts in all - on top of RR and national forums like this one - is to me proof of being seen in a friendly light. Some of my pro-forum inter-action stances and tight decency/sociable language demands might not be now seen as majority view on RR itself, but having come off the moderation team it's hardly for me to 'boss' them about now. But I feel that a lot of the stuff that I introduced - Reference section, media section, historical stuff, local issues, Calendar is better than on most other individual club forum sites. However, the site is obviously passing its first 'newly-born' stage, and I don't know in which direction it will go in the future, but I just to enjoy it for what it is and hopefully for no-one to get under my skin! I hope I always gave you fullest respect and honesty, well I think so anyway ... David
No one drove you away mafff, you made that decision all by yourself instead of trying to resolve the issues raised at that time. I've had plenty of spats with other members but usually resolved them with a couple of pm's.
Its good to see Reading so active, so early, in the transfer market. We're not used to this. Bridge and Drenthe both signed on free transfers and, the best bit of news for me, Pearce has signed a two year deal as well. It'll be interesting to see who the club goes after when Anton actually puts his hand in his pocket, as he has promised to do.
