Kitson signs for Stoke for £5.5 million

[CholseyRoyal]

In reference to Dirk's post...

Of course I'm sad to see Kitson go, but I'm personally concerned about the bigger picture, rather than the individual merits (or otherwise) of individual players leaving.

It is completely understandable, and realistic for that matter, to expect that players will leave this summer - if you get relegated that's what happens.

My worry is about a general malaise in the way in which RFC is conducting business, and the adequacy of any potential replacements. The bottom line is our squad is undoubtedly the weakest it has been for 3 years, and I for one am worried about what we are going to do to rectify this. Whether it's Kitson, Kebe or the Kitman is irrelevant, it's who we get to replace them / add to the squad that is the major issue.

What he said. We must have known that Stoke were enquiring about Kitson for while, Hammond even stated on the official site that they would be aware of every single movement of players in and out of the Championship and make sure that the player would be offered to Coppell as an option. So how come we don't seem to be making any noises about players like Hulse or King or indeed any other signings? We are on the backfoot now and replacing Kitson will be a mammoth task

Why are you so convinced Coppell wants to replace anyone? According to Hammond, the scouts have made suggestions to Steve but he isn't interested, he wants a smaller squad and is happy with what we have.

[yuomi]

Kits spent most of the 2nd half of last season in and around the centre circle

Bit harsh. You might want to look towards the bench with regards to the tactics set out.

Kitson always gave everything for the cause. He's a battler, a winner. A large part of our winning mentality that took us up and kept us up.

i never got that impression from him. when times were good, he was in the mix, battling away with the best of them. first season in the prem he was outstanding. but last season i think he withered in the shadow of his achievment. he turned sullen, wasnt running for balls that 12 months before he was quite capable of getting.

[CMRoyal]

Whats the point building the club up brick by brick and then taking the bricks down again ? Kits was one of our best players and I feel the club is selling its family silver! Do you think RFC will spend big to replace him ... well dont hold your breth.It was only earlier this year that Hammond ( i think ) suggested RFC could be a top 10 club in the country. It seems RFC are going to be on a downward spiral to medeocracy....... lets hope not !

I’m not sure brick-by-brick is commensurate with “spending big to replace” is it? Surely buy a striker for 100k, develop him, sell him for 5 mill, buy the next striker for £500k, develop him, sell him for 8 mill, is a more realistic expectation.

I’m talking generalities, obviously. I wouldn’t turn my nose up the prospect of us getting a £4m player in.

[old woman]

Sad to see him go-but would his heart have been in it if he had been forced to stay.

SC's comments regarding Harper may be relevant.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Whats the point building the club up brick by brick and then taking the bricks down again ?

Two steps forward, one step back. The truth is that financially we are in a far better position to build a new team than we were when we built the promotion winning team.

Whether we can make good use of our financial position remains to be seen...

Kits was one of our best players and I feel the club is selling its family silver!

IF a player wants to leave (and to be honest we don't know how much he wants to leave, although signing for Stoke does indicate his desire to be in the premier is pretty desperate) it rarely pays dividends to hold on to him, as players who don't want to be at a club rarely play that well.

It was only earlier this year that Hammond ( i think ) suggested RFC could be a top 10 club in the country.

I think is was clear to most people that it was a long term aim, not something they thought would be achieved with a year or two.

It seems RFC are going to be on a downward spiral to medeocracy

like I said, two steps forward, one step back. OF course we are well capable of stuffing things up as a club, or JM could possibly decide to take all the cash to pay of his loans, and we could slide back to how we were before, but we could also be poised to take another two steps forward.

People can speculate all they like about what will happen, but moaning about what they think might happen as if it's factual certainty is a little pointless.

[weybridgewanderer]

Kits spent most of the 2nd half of last season in and around the centre circle

Bit harsh. You might want to look towards the bench with regards to the tactics set out.

Kitson always gave everything for the cause. He's a battler, a winner. A large part of our winning mentality that took us up and kept us up.

i never got that impression from him. when times were good, he was in the mix, battling away with the best of them. first season in the prem he was outstanding. but last season i think he withered in the shadow of his achievment. he turned sullen, wasnt running for balls that 12 months before he was quite capable of getting.

exactamento

scored twice v Tottenham, played well yet we lost 6-4

His head went down, he lost all interest , didn't score again till 8th march

[Royal Rother]

first season in the prem he was outstanding. but last season i think he withered in the shadow of his achievment. he turned sullen, wasnt running for balls that 12 months before he was quite capable of getting.

This is getting silly. He hardly played in the 1st season and even when he did come back from injury he never looked fully fit and scored only 2 goals during the season. He got more yellow cards than goals in 2006/7!

[RoyalBlue]

In reference to Dirk's post...

Of course I'm sad to see Kitson go, but I'm personally concerned about the bigger picture, rather than the individual merits (or otherwise) of individual players leaving.

It is completely understandable, and realistic for that matter, to expect that players will leave this summer - if you get relegated that's what happens.

My worry is about a general malaise in the way in which RFC is conducting business, and the adequacy of any potential replacements. The bottom line is our squad is undoubtedly the weakest it has been for 3 years, and I for one am worried about what we are going to do to rectify this. Whether it's Kitson, Kebe or the Kitman is irrelevant, it's who we get to replace them / add to the squad that is the major issue.

What he said. We must have known that Stoke were enquiring about Kitson for while, Hammond even stated on the official site that they would be aware of every single movement of players in and out of the Championship and make sure that the player would be offered to Coppell as an option. So how come we don't seem to be making any noises about players like Hulse or King or indeed any other signings? We are on the backfoot now and replacing Kitson will be a mammoth task

Why are you so convinced Coppell wants to replace anyone? According to Hammond, the scouts have made suggestions to Steve but he isn't interested, he wants a smaller squad and is happy with what we have.

But you're not seriously going to suggest it makes sense to try to mount a proper promotion campaign with just three strikers?

One gets injured then what? Most clubs don't make a habit of loaning out proven goalscorers who can do the business at Championship level!

[Gordons Cumming]

Who cares?

Good luck Kits.

Another season of struggle for him...........but at least his bank balance will be healthier.

The only reason he's going.

[premiership_bound]

Be a pain in the A if he goes. He's August on the RFC calender.

[Fat Leather Jacket]

Be a pain in the A if he goes. He's August on the RFC calender.

Write 'Ginger tosser' across his pic with a marker pen.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Who cares?

Good luck Kits.

Another season of struggle for him...........but at least his bank balance will be healthier.

The only reason he's going.

Indeed, much like every single footballer out there. How dare he

[Sarah Star]

Be a pain in the A if he goes. He's August on the RFC calender.

That's just too ironic.

Yeah, deface it...if he goes anyway. Maybe don't do it just yet.

[Row Z Royal]

Has he gone yet then?

£5 miLOLLOLion.

[largetrousers]

Dad just called me, said on the 3pm news it confirmed Kitson was up @ stoke and has signed. Still nothing on the OS etc.

[CholseyRoyal]

Has he gone yet then?

£5 miLOLLOLion.

17.5% has to go to Cambridge though. They reckon they will get £500k as they have already received some payments when we were promoted and Kits passed 50 goals for us.

[Row Z Royal]

Has he gone yet then?

£5 miLOLLOLion.

17.5% has to go to Cambridge though. They reckon they will get £500k as they have already received some payments when we were promoted and Kits passed 50 goals for us.

Daaaaaavid Kitson
Not a bargain not a bargain...

[Barry the bird boggler]

If its confirmed as 4million then Cambridge will get £700,000

[TFF]

If its confirmed as 4million then Cambridge will get £700,000

Less what they've already received according to this http://www.rivals.net/news/pgarticle.as ... 4529&id=95

If he's off I'm quite happy to see us spread the wealth like this, much happier than seeing what Arsenal would reap from the sale of James Harper.

[Drew_3]

seriously if i worked this slow i'd be sacked,how long does it take to get a transfer done?