Rumour: Ahmed Akaïchi

[Nameless]

Player with a couple of caps for country outside world top 60 and unable to get into club first team....

Look at it either way !

[Pepe the Horseman]

We paid what, half a mill for him? Hardly the same as a cheap punt on some complete unknowns from the Irish league.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Anyway, not really sure what my point is. Basically we haven't unearthed any hidden gems for ten years, but on the flip side everyone we've paid a lot of money for has been shit.

[Hoop Blah]

The right way to find players is obviously to do a bit of both, and to do them well too.

You can't just buy a load of cheap players and hope that one or two of them develop into players good enough because they generally have to play games to develop and prove themselves. You only have to look at what Cox or Antonio did once they left Reading to see that. They wouldn't have kicked on as they did sat in our reserves and being 26th and 27th man at RFC training sessions.

You also have to consider the cost. Of course Bennett and Mooney didn't command massive fees or wages but by having them in the squad alongside Sheppard, Williams, Brown, Illguson, Bozanic and all the other cheap potential punts probably meant we couldn't afford to bring in one or two genuine first team players (obviously no sure thing they'd have paid off either of course).

I think we do alright BUT we probably go for a few too many cheap punts when we don't have that great a record at them paying off.

[SCIAG]

Kebe and Morrison were around the Kitson mark, £200-300k. Morrison was pretty high profile though.

As well as Kebe, I think Cisse could be counted as a hidden gem. And of course there's Sigurdsson, McCarthy...

I do think that we could have done with taking more low-risk punts since TSI came in, but we've been too busy taking high-risk ones (Drenthe, Blackman, Akpan to an extent). TSI basically killed off Karl Sheppard's career, we can't play punts if we're signing big names like Jason Roberts. And of course, now many of our "gambles" are young players we've produced ourselves - it's even cheaper and probably more effective to use Jake Cooper than Alan Bennett or Sam Sodje.

We might not pull off all our low-risk punts, but I think we've got a pretty good record nonetheless. Better than our record with players signed as certain first-teamers.

[melonhead]

I think we do alright BUT we probably go for a few too many cheap punts when we don't have that great a record at them paying off.

many of those were during periods when we had no choice but to go for cheap punts
imo

[Ian Royal]

There's also the argument, that for every Shane Long or Kevin Doyle, there's a David Mooney or Karl Sheppard.

Your Bennetts, Mooneys and Sheppards are appropriate punts. Having a low cost signing approach with a hit rate of 2 in 5 is pretty darn good and better value than a 3 in 5 hit rate with more expensive players. Although our hit rate is actually shit with them.

What you need to avoid are your Baseyas and your Brett Williamses who clearly weren't going to be good enough even if we got relegated. And at the PL level your Sam Sodjes, Khalifa Cisses and Hope Akpans.

[SCIAG]

Bit harsh putting Cisse in with Sodje and Akpan. Regular starter in a playoff campaign and even a halfway decent top flight player.

[Ian Royal]

Bit harsh putting Cisse in with Sodje and Akpan. Regular starter in a playoff campaign and even a halfway decent top flight player.

Sorry, I thought he was no where near Premier League standard and only mediocre in the Championship. Definitely a weak link in midfield for us and only started 24 games during that play off campaign, which would have resulted in autos had we not folded in the second half of the season. After leaving us he played for a struggling to mediocre Bristol side and has done the square root of sod all since.

Good goal. Still, shit players have been known to score good goals.

He's exactly the right comparison for Akpan. Brought for the PL, not good enough for us in the Championship.

[Royal Ginger]

Still, shit players have been known to score good goals.

'greed, see Nick Blackman.

[Royal Rother]

I'll always remember his amazing performance in the centre of defence against Man Utd...

[SCIAG]

OK, I might have overstated his contribution, looks like he was very much one of five for most of the season but I do remember him being Harper's default partner. He also scored away goals against Wolves, Birmingham and Sheffield United... Much better defensively than Akpan and with a better goal record to boot.

Ashton Gate is one of my main memories of that season so I guess that affected my perception of Cisse (goal aside, he was phenomenal).

[paddy20]

Bit harsh putting Cisse in with Sodje and Akpan. Regular starter in a playoff campaign and even a halfway decent top flight player.

Sorry, I thought he was no where near Premier League standard and only mediocre in the Championship. Definitely a weak link in midfield for us and only started 24 games during that play off campaign, which would have resulted in autos had we not folded in the second half of the season. After leaving us he played for a struggling to mediocre Bristol side and has done the square root of sod all since.

Good goal. Still, shit players have been known to score good goals.

He's exactly the right comparison for Akpan. Brought for the PL, not good enough for us in the Championship.

Plays in Thailand now, decent bloke

[From Despair To Where?]

Always thought Cisse was an easy scapegoat and a much better player than people gave him credit for. Inconsistent but a decent player all the same.

[melonhead]

agreed
decent player.
good at this level.
ok in th eprem.

never a failure.