The squad in July

[Elm Park Kid]

You ok Ian?

[Snowflake Royal]

Ah right I see now. I don't think many/any players who we signed last summer or renewed their contracts will be on Championship level wages, not even average ones, not according to reported figures anyway.

£8.5k (our limit for last season) would be an average weekly wage for the kind of struggling Championship teams that might be interested in our squad. Even Luton paid less on average - it's only the parachute clubs and those gambling on promotion that pay significantly higher. And those clubs aren't coming anywhere near our players.

Working off some of the sources I've seen, it's been reported that the players are/were down as earning £3k per week. Was the limit for last season something that the club has actually said/was reported or is it something that the fans have just calculated based on what our wage bill is/was at the start of last season and what that average would be per player?

It was the maximum we could pay someone. Not our average wage. Not what everyone was on. Not what anyone we signed was on.

[Snowflake Royal]

£8.5k (our limit for last season) would be an average weekly wage for the kind of struggling Championship teams that might be interested in our squad. Even Luton paid less on average - it's only the parachute clubs and those gambling on promotion that pay significantly higher. And those clubs aren't coming anywhere near our players.

Working off some of the sources I've seen, it's been reported that the players are/were down as earning £3k per week. Was the limit for last season something that the club has actually said/was reported or is it something that the fans have just calculated based on what our wage bill is/was at the start of last season and what that average would be per player?

I actually can't remember where that figure comes from - I guess it's possible that people just repeated it so often it became a 'fact'.

Though, i guess my point is that whatever wages we agreed in contract negotiations last season they would have pretty much been the market rate for each player. The EFL restrictions wouldn't have stopped us offering players what they were worth, a value that has only decreased being part of a relegation side. I just don't see why Championship clubs would be interested now in outbidding us for players that have already been found wanting (obviously Ince aside). A good example is NGW - who was more than ready to sign a new contract with us, even though he had the option to listen to other clubs offers.

They literally did. Which is why we only signed dross

[Elm Park Kid]

Working off some of the sources I've seen, it's been reported that the players are/were down as earning £3k per week. Was the limit for last season something that the club has actually said/was reported or is it something that the fans have just calculated based on what our wage bill is/was at the start of last season and what that average would be per player?

I actually can't remember where that figure comes from - I guess it's possible that people just repeated it so often it became a 'fact'.

Though, i guess my point is that whatever wages we agreed in contract negotiations last season they would have pretty much been the market rate for each player. The EFL restrictions wouldn't have stopped us offering players what they were worth, a value that has only decreased being part of a relegation side. I just don't see why Championship clubs would be interested now in outbidding us for players that have already been found wanting (obviously Ince aside). A good example is NGW - who was more than ready to sign a new contract with us, even though he had the option to listen to other clubs offers.

They literally did. Which is why we only signed dross

Obviously I mean that it wouldn't have stopped us offering the players we signed what they were worth.

[URZZZZ]

Meh. Would have been a good player in League 1, but injury prone and was on a long contract for a player his age. Replace well and we're fine, and perhaps it opens the route for Dorsett

Few contenders but probably our most disappointing player of the season. Had a couple of good games towards the end but coincidence or not, he came into the side on a regular basis mid December (whilst we were sitting 8th with 7 clean sheets) and we ended up going four months without another clean sheet (whilst getting relegated of course)

Can excuse a lack of pace but good defenders can adjust to that. He didn’t. For all the criticism Dann got through the season, thought he was a better option than Sarr

Not even sure he was that slow. Didn’t see him get rinsed like McIntyre does on occasions

It was the mistakes in the box, dodgy marking and poor passing decisions really.

I think he is just a poor player. Woeful in the air (especially for someone of his size), not much better with his feet. Can’t defend very well. Beating the same drum I mentioned a while back but given he was a prominent feature of Huddersfield’s playoff campaign the season previous, it really highlights the dearth of actual quality in the Championship, even at the top end

Anyway, glad he’s gone. Do like the look of Mbengue, thought he was one of our the shining light last season. Inexplicably dropped by Ince for not being 36 years old or 7 feet tall. Should be a regular starter next season if he signs on

[Hound]

Few contenders but probably our most disappointing player of the season. Had a couple of good games towards the end but coincidence or not, he came into the side on a regular basis mid December (whilst we were sitting 8th with 7 clean sheets) and we ended up going four months without another clean sheet (whilst getting relegated of course)

Can excuse a lack of pace but good defenders can adjust to that. He didn’t. For all the criticism Dann got through the season, thought he was a better option than Sarr

Not even sure he was that slow. Didn’t see him get rinsed like McIntyre does on occasions

It was the mistakes in the box, dodgy marking and poor passing decisions really.

I think he is just a poor player. Woeful in the air (especially for someone of his size), not much better with his feet. Can’t defend very well. Beating the same drum I mentioned a while back but given he was a prominent feature of Huddersfield’s playoff campaign the season previous, it really highlights the dearth of actual quality in the Championship, even at the top end

Anyway, glad he’s gone. Do like the look of Mbengue, thought he was one of our the shining light last season. Inexplicably dropped by Ince for not being 36 years old or 7 feet tall. Should be a regular starter next season if he signs on

Yeah would agree with that. Big fan of Mbengue

[YoungRon]

From the veiled wording here - seems that the club hadn't yet announced Sarr leaving because Sarr hadn't told the club he was going to leave - looks like the deal announcement came as a bit of a surprise and they are more than slightly pissed about it.

https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2023/june/13/naby-sarr-expected-to-leave-club-for-move-to-middle-east-here

Royals centre-back Naby Sarr is expected to trigger a relegation release clause in his contract to take up a new opportunity overseas.

Without any formal approach submitted to the club for the centre-half, Sarr was set to remain a registered player with the Royals whilst under contract with the club.

However the defender - who turns 30 this summer - is now expected to formally activate the contractual clause to allow him to leave RG2 and sign for Qatari side Almarkhiya.

Sarr put pen to paper on a contract with the Royals last summer and scored on debut at Millwall. After a three-month injury absence, he went on to make 23 starts across the course of our 2022-23 campaign.

Everyone at Reading Football Club would like to wish Naby well in his future career.

If it's already in the news, there's already been an formal approach, I'm assuming.
I think he started negotiating with another team and the Royals found out about it. That's why the hype was raised.

[SCIAG]

We're not exactly short at centre-back, if there is a position for us to cut costs in then this is it.

Don't really know why we are having to cut costs so much! There is no FFP in Div 1 and although there is a restriction on wage/turnover, income can be increased by the owners putting in more investment I think, although not sure of the mechanics on how they do that.
Surely if the owners are still serious this is an ideal time to be spending money and bringing in the best players to get us out of this division as quickly as possible. If we can do that the we just have to avoid losing 39M over next 3 years.

Our revenue is going to fall. If we want to comply with FFP when we get back into the Championship then we need to make sure we're not losing large amounts in League One.

[Stranded]

Posted on the wrong Ince thread but reported that Ince Jr's release clause has been met by Watford and in talks over a 3 year deal there.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Posted on the wrong Ince thread but reported that Ince Jr's release clause has been met by Watford and in talks over a 3 year deal there.

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

[Stranded]

Posted on the wrong Ince thread but reported that Ince Jr's release clause has been met by Watford and in talks over a 3 year deal there.

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

I think it's thinness is why I am randomly not too worried yet - there is no way we go into the season with what 8 senior players? If we do, we're done.

We probably need, currently, a minimum 12 players in the door (which may include Meite, Hoilett and Mbengue), more if more leave and 45 days to the season starts plus a manager. It is not quite panic stations yet but it's getting close.

More and more of our rivals are now bringing in players whilst we are still losing them, that has to change soon.

[Elm Park Kid]

Posted on the wrong Ince thread but reported that Ince Jr's release clause has been met by Watford and in talks over a 3 year deal there.

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

From conversations I've had, I don't think journalist want to touch it right now as it's the sort of stuff that the owners are likely to sue over.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Posted on the wrong Ince thread but reported that Ince Jr's release clause has been met by Watford and in talks over a 3 year deal there.

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

I think it's thinness is why I am randomly not too worried yet - there is no way we go into the season with what 8 senior players? If we do, we're done.

We probably need, currently, a minimum 12 players in the door (which may include Meite, Hoilett and Mbengue), more if more leave and 45 days to the season starts plus a manager. It is not quite panic stations yet but it's getting close.

More and more of our rivals are now bringing in players whilst we are still losing them, that has to change soon.

Yeh, i feel ya. I'm just surprised more hasn't been made of it in the media/football twitter in general. Feel like Derby and Wigan got a lot of coverage but we've gone under the radar.

[Brogue]

Posted on the wrong Ince thread but reported that Ince Jr's release clause has been met by Watford and in talks over a 3 year deal there.

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

From conversations I've had, I don't think journalist want to touch it right now as it's the sort of stuff that the owners are likely to sue over.

fcuk off, what conversations have you had, and with who?

you and a couple of mates down the dog and duck no doubt? you really are full of shit

[Elm Park Kid]

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

From conversations I've had, I don't think journalist want to touch it right now as it's the sort of stuff that the owners are likely to sue over.

fcuk off, what conversations have you had, and with who?

you and a couple of mates down the dog and duck no doubt? you really are full of shit

Just posting my understanding of the situation. Fair enough - I can't provide details so i'm not expecting anyone to take this at face value. But . . we'll see what comes out in the next few weeks and reassess ok?

[tmesis]

No surprise.

Our squad is worryingly thin atm (obvs), especially when you factor that our 9 first teamers include permanently injured Hutchinson and AWOL Ejaria.

Mentioned it on Twitter, but surprised people outside of the Reading bubble aren't talking about what a mess we're currently in. Obviously we're only little Reading, but it still feels like it should be more of a big deal.

I think it's thinness is why I am randomly not too worried yet - there is no way we go into the season with what 8 senior players? If we do, we're done.

We probably need, currently, a minimum 12 players in the door (which may include Meite, Hoilett and Mbengue), more if more leave and 45 days to the season starts plus a manager. It is not quite panic stations yet but it's getting close.

More and more of our rivals are now bringing in players whilst we are still losing them, that has to change soon.

Yeh, i feel ya. I'm just surprised more hasn't been made of it in the media/football twitter in general. Feel like Derby and Wigan got a lot of coverage but we've gone under the radar.

They've been in administration, faced winding up orders etc, while from the outside we probably just look like a team being punished for overspending, who got their comeuppance.

They also probably have no idea what's going on, and until there's something concrete, they aren't going to care either.

Alarm bells probably won't start ringing until we are playing pre-season games with a decimated squad, and questions about our ability to put out a proper team get raised.

Obviously, it has to get to that stage first.

[Snowflake Royal]

From conversations I've had, I don't think journalist want to touch it right now as it's the sort of stuff that the owners are likely to sue over.

fcuk off, what conversations have you had, and with who?

you and a couple of mates down the dog and duck no doubt? you really are full of shit

Just posting my understanding of the situation. Fair enough - I can't provide details so i'm not expecting anyone to take this at face value. But . . we'll see what comes out in the next few weeks and reassess ok?

Always.

It would be nice though, if people could be clear that they claim to have genuine insider knowledge or are just taking things on twitter literally. Because it's otherwise impossible to sort the chaff from the possible wheat and consider who to take seriously.

No need to give away sources. But if you post as if you know something but give no reason why, expect to be called out for bullshit given the amount flying around.

I don't get being willing to post something, but not say how or why you know it, or even whether you're trying to give inside info or just posting opinion / regurgitating stuff off twitter. It helps no one and gets you no credit, so you may as well say nothing.

[Royal_jimmy]

This must be the biggest mess the clubs been in since the 1980s (other than the Vibrac mess). I'm not that old so I'm hoping another fan would agree.

[Brogue]

I'm not that old

I would never have guessed

[From Despair To Where?]

Well, we were clearly in a mess in the 80's and a pretty big mess in the 90s before Madejski took over, and a collossal mess under Zingarovich. In all three periods, the club was in imminent and real danger of going out of existance/into administration.