Mackail-Smith

[Mr Angry]

I dunno - I think there is more to this transfer than meets the eye; it could be anything, but it seems odd to me that he turned down the chance to play for acouple of Prem teams (including Norwich), plus - if reports are correct, teams like Leicester, Ipswich and West Ham, in order to go for Brighton.

Length of contract? Size of signing on fee? Guarantees of being first choice striker? Could be anything.......

[Ian Royal]

Most likely to be playing chances IMO. I don't think he could have done it for money.

[royal67]

"1327: Brighton are set to win the race for the signature of Peterborough United striker Craig Mackail-Smith, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire understands. The Seagulls appear to have beaten off competition from Leicester and West Ham for the 27-year-old."

What the f*ck? Now teams who have come up from the division below us are showing more ambition than we are.

^^ WHS.... ^^^

[Friday's Legacy]

"1327: Brighton are set to win the race for the signature of Peterborough United striker Craig Mackail-Smith, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire understands. The Seagulls appear to have beaten off competition from Leicester and West Ham for the 27-year-old."

What the f*ck? Now teams who have come up from the division below us are showing more ambition than we are.

^^ WHS.... ^^^

it's the reading way to be more frugal with their money. have our last 8 years been successful and indeed our most successful in our history? yes they have. did we spend big to achieve that success? no we didn't. some of you just like to moan for the sake of it.

[royal67]

What the f*ck? Now teams who have come up from the division below us are showing more ambition than we are.[/quote]

^^ WHS.... ^^^[/quote]

it's the reading way to be more frugal with their money. have our last 8 years been successful and indeed our most successful in our history? yes they have. did we spend big to achieve that success? no we didn't. some of you just like to moan for the sake of it.[/quote]

Don't be fooled by the fact I've only posted a few times. I've been watching the Royals for 30 years. I realise that the past six years or so have been the clubs most successful. I also appreciate that while you think that people are moaning, they are in fact voicing their opinion. I happen to think that Sir John is running the club to meet a budget, not to win the league or promotion to the premier league. Brighton have new stadium and Gus has probably spent all of his pocket money on Mackail-Smith. One player does not make a team so I think this could turn into a costly error. Our current team should comfortably do the double over Brighton.....
I just think that most Reading supporters would like to see a bit more 'zing' in the transfer window rather than see supposedly 'smaller' teams in the division become the big hitters in the transfer window.....

[Snowball]

Tho Brighton MIGHT flop, they are a very good footballing side
who took their league by storm. They should be a real danger,
more so if CMS really has signed.

[DOYLERSAROYALER]

Tis fair to say that the Peterborough chairman and his sidekick Fry may well have exaggerated the interest in him to force a bidding war .....

...I remember Fry saying a short while back that 5 premier league teams were interested in him, so maybe that was a bit of billy bullsh*t, as the transfer fee would have hardly scared those supposed prem league teams off.....Frys prb been found out here .....

...and the reality is that CMS isnt of prem league quality

[royal67]

Tho Brighton MIGHT flop, they are a very good footballing side
who took their league by storm. They should be a real danger,
more so if CMS really has signed.

Maybe Snowball, but there is a huge chasm in class between the Championship and league one. They will have to be at the top of their game week in and week out to be near the top of the table. In league one there were a couple of clubs that could potentially challenge them, in our league there will be at least a dozen clubs that should beat them. They have a small (ish) squad and I think you'll see them struggle towards the end of the season when their excitement and adrenaline starts to ebb......

[Wycombe Royal]

The last time CMS played in this division the team he played for got relegated and he scored 10 goals. So yes he has had a great season in League One but does that really justify the fee?

[pea]

Brighton had to do something like this, they just lost two of their best players in Murray and Bennett. A lot of goals to replace in that team, they will build their team around CMS, which I think he liked.

[Mr Angry]

[quote="Snowball"]Tho Brighton MIGHT flop, they are a very good footballing side
who took their league by storm. They should be a real danger,
more so if CMS really has signed.[/quote]

4 Year contract, confirmed yesterday.

[Hoop Blah]

The last time CMS played in this division the team he played for got relegated and he scored 10 goals. So yes he has had a great season in League One but does that really justify the fee?

A lot depends on how they actually performed though doesn't it?

10 goals in a side that were pretty poor and got relegated isn't so bad if the individual performed well. A forward is, to a certain extent, reliant on service afterall.

Long is being touted at £7m-£10m for Premier League teams to snap up. Last time he played up there he couldn't hold down a place in a side that was relegated but I'm sure there are plenty of teams willing to take him this time round after just 6 months of carrying our attack.

[Wycombe Royal]

The last time CMS played in this division the team he played for got relegated and he scored 10 goals. So yes he has had a great season in League One but does that really justify the fee?

A lot depends on how they actually performed though doesn't it?

10 goals in a side that were pretty poor and got relegated isn't so bad if the individual performed well. A forward is, to a certain extent, reliant on service afterall.

Long is being touted at £7m-£10m for Premier League teams to snap up. Last time he played up there he couldn't hold down a place in a side that was relegated but I'm sure there are plenty of teams willing to take him this time round after just 6 months of carrying our attack.

Chempionship to Premier League is a far bigger step up than League One to Championship. Also Long was far younger when in the Premier League and did not play much. CMS on the other hand was already an experienced player when playing in the Championship and started nearly every match. Not a very good comparison really.

My point is that CMS is relatively unproven in this league and has moved on for figures similar to Danny Graham and Morison who both have good records in this league (Graham more so).

[loyalroyal4life]

makes you wonder if we had gone in for him that he may well have signed on

[roadrunner]

makes you wonder if we had gone in for him that he may well have signed on

I'm sure we were interested but never at that price. Good signing for Brighton and with momentum behind them and the new stadium I expect them to push the top 6 this season. CMS's work rate is similar to Doyle's. Hard working and works the channels. The bastards.

[Hoop Blah]

Chempionship to Premier League is a far bigger step up than League One to Championship. Also Long was far younger when in the Premier League and did not play much. CMS on the other hand was already an experienced player when playing in the Championship and started nearly every match. Not a very good comparison really.

My point is that CMS is relatively unproven in this league and has moved on for figures similar to Danny Graham and Morison who both have good records in this league (Graham more so).

Graham's only really had one good season in the Championship so not sure I'd agree on his record being so great.

Morison only played one season in the Championship so not sure he's proven anymore than CMS to be honest.

CMS score nearly 50% more goals than Morison did, and 100% more than Graham, last time they played in League 1 and he is very hard working. I can understand why he was in demand and he must've impressed enough for people to think he could at replicate the likes of Graham and Morison. Much like Wickhams fee, your paying for what they might deliver rather than what they have.

My Long comparison wasn't meant to be a perfect like for like, it's just showing that players progress and one seasons tally doesn't have to mean a hell of a lot.

[The Goat was fed]

Not sure how he'd have fitted in with us anyhow.

As others have saud, a busy, nippy guy who works the channels and half-decent finisher - an improvement on Noel Hunt, but would never lead the line in the way Shane Long did/does.

[YateleyRoyal]

I think people are assuming that just because Brighton were in the division below last year then they won't be a force. Incorrect. Norwich came up and then got another promotion. CMS probably sees Brighton as a team who play good football, where there wont be the pressure on him like there would be at West Ham or Leicester or Norwich, and in a division where anyone has a feasible chance of doing well.

It isnt the strangest move in the world IMHO.

[leicsRoyal]

We are not going to spend any money without it coming in first.

It is a bit of a concern that once the likes of Mills and Long move on, many of the targets that we may well have been interested in will already have been snapped up.

[roadrunner]

We are not going to spend any money without it coming in first.

It is a bit of a concern that once the likes of Mills and Long move on, many of the targets that we may well have been interested in will already have been snapped up.

Assuming of course we spend then. Manset and B.Williams are both going to see a lot more football this season in support of Church and Hunt. Perhaps we're not even considering a replacement for Long. Even for the defence I can see us looking to the kids again; namely Jack Mills who is pushing hard to make the step up.