Hob Nob Anyone?

Andy Hughes gets a lot of unfair stick IMO. For a couple of seasons when he was played in an advanced central role and just allowed to run around like the Duracel bunny, creating havoc, he was excellent. It was when we started playing him out of position on the wing or as a wing/full back and he needed to concentrate for more than 30 seconds that it all went to shit.

Still, God bless Nicky Hammond and thank you for the £500,000, Norwich.

From Despair To Where? wrote:Andy Hughes gets a lot of unfair stick IMO. For a couple of seasons when he was played in an advanced central role and just allowed to run around like the Duracel bunny, creating havoc, he was excellent. It was when we started playing him out of position on the wing or as a wing/full back and he needed to concentrate for more than 30 seconds that it all went to shit.

Still, God bless Nicky Hammond and thank you for the £500,000, Norwich.

+1 I remember when he played behind Forster under Pardew and he was excellent.

Shame he couldn't do it in any other position.

Old Man Andrews wrote:

Snowflake Royal wrote:He's really not.

You're in a world you know nothing about Ian. Judging a footballers ability is something you actually need to be trained to do and have experience in. Helps if you have multiple qualifications in that field too, kinda like I have. Back down.

Sorry, I reject your appeals to authority as bullshit.

Snowflake Royal wrote:

Old Man Andrews wrote:

Snowflake Royal wrote:He's really not.

You're in a world you know nothing about Ian. Judging a footballers ability is something you actually need to be trained to do and have experience in. Helps if you have multiple qualifications in that field too, kinda like I have. Back down.

Sorry, I reject your appeals to authority as bullshit.

Thats fair enough, that is your right but you can't say Danny Williams isn't top level quality thats just silly. I accept he won't make it at that level due to his injuries though.

Over 50 Bundesliga appearances also supports the "not shit" argument.

He was doing alright for Huddersfield until the ankle injury.

Basically been out for 18 months now, who knows whether he could still cut it

He was great on his day...but not consistent enough. Nowhere near as consistent as Rino, so no let’s not take him back

Notts Royal wrote:He was great on his day...but not consistent enough. Nowhere near as consistent as Rino, so no let’s not take him back

This.

Also feel that Williams falls into the category of "will hold their own" in a PL team, without necessarily improving that team. But at Championship level he should improve a team - and do that consistently.

I guess what I mean is, in any team you have key players that improve the team by their presence - but unless you are a big club for your league, you aren't going to be able to afford that many of those. So if the rest of your first team is made up of players who will hold their own - in conjunction with a few key players, you've got the makings of a decent team .

But if you are going to cough up for your smattering of key players, those players have absolutely got to be consistent, because there aren't that many of them. And that was the Williams problem for us - too many off days.

Platypuss wrote:

Mr Optimist wrote:And who can forget Andy Hughes, Lesley Taylor and Karl Elsey

Wish I could.

Bizarrely, a bit like an exgirlfriend where you only remember the good parts of the relationship and not the petty arguments and the fact she was a mentalist, I now look back on Andy Hughes and only remember the occasional 30 yard screamers he would very occasionally score to make you reassess whether he actually was a professional footballer, but for Les Taylor (Simod cup final aside) and Karl Elsey, they have mostly been erased from my memory thankfully.

Notts Royal wrote:Nowhere near as consistent as Rino

Rinomhota has played 19 senior games in his career. Williams played 135 at Reading alone. How can you begin to talk about consistency?

John Smith wrote:

Maneki Neko wrote:

John Smith wrote:Danny Williams is one of the best players to have ever played for Reading; incredible industry, desire, aggression and determination. Anyone looking for faults clearly has ideas above our station.

The only thing stopping him coming here would be wages - he can go and grab a pick up an easy bumper contract in China or Turkey instead.

"one of" is pretty vague
how many are in your list of best players, total?

Top 10

If Williams is in your Top 10 best ever Reading players either your list doesn't go back very far or you are deluded.

Snowflake Royal wrote:

John Smith wrote:

Maneki Neko wrote:
"one of" is pretty vague
how many are in your list of best players, total?

Top 10

ROFL.

Kitson, Doyle, Sigurdsson, Kebe, Little, Sidwell, Harper, Gunnarsson, Shaka, Hahnemann, Wdowczyk, Ingimarsson, Convey, Osborn, McAnuff, Long, A Williams, Gooding, S Taylor, Sonko, Harte, Griffin, Leigertwood, Gorkss, Pearce, J Quinn, Murty, Bernal, Cureton, Forster...

I could go on.


I'll concede he might squeek in to a top 10 midfielders if wingers don't count. Didn't see enough of Taylor and Osborn to know whether to count them as wingers or midfielders

1. Sig
2. Sid
3. Harps
4. Gooding
5. Gunnarsson
6. Leigertwood
7. Tabb
8. Karacan
9. Caskey
10. Parkinson
11. Rinomhota
12. Williams

Maybe not.

Osborne was generally a CM. One of the classiest players I've seen in a Reading shirt. Just natural passing ability and exceptional vision. He'd be in my top 5 Reading Midfielders.

John Smith wrote:

Snowflake Royal wrote: Williams is Premier League quality.

Is he Fcuk! He's top to mid Championship at best. His last season for us he played out of his skin, but barring that he was bang average for us the majority of the time.

Notts Royal wrote:He was great on his day...but not consistent enough. Nowhere near as consistent as Rino, so no let’s not take him back

Yep, not consistent. Think we had wanted to re-sign him tho? Obv couldn't begrudge him wanting to play PL, but think we'd have kept him if we could have.
Lots of talent/ability, maybe not easiest player to manage. Felt he needs managing carefully to get most out of him (think Bacuna is a bit like that). Figure out what makes them tick, what keeps them motivated and focused, etc. In contrast, we were comparing him with Parky earlier in this thread, and reckon Parky didn't need any managing at all.

Platypuss wrote:Over 50 Bundesliga appearances also supports the "not shit" argument.

I mean no one has said he's shit, but yeah. Although I imagine a lot of those appearances were getting relegated weren't they?

Tilehurstsouthbank wrote:

John Smith wrote:

Snowflake Royal wrote: Williams is Premier League quality.

Is he Fcuk! He's top to mid Championship at best. His last season for us he played out of his skin, but barring that he was bang average for us the majority of the time.

Quote fail. I definitely didn't say that.

In the right team Williams might be adequate for a relegation threatened PL team. That's not really what I call Premier League quality though.

Snowflake Royal wrote:

Platypuss wrote:Over 50 Bundesliga appearances also supports the "not shit" argument.

I mean no one has said he's shit, but yeah. Although I imagine a lot of those appearances were getting relegated weren't they?

None of them were. Neither team he played for were relegated in his time there.

NewCorkSeth wrote:

Snowflake Royal wrote:

Platypuss wrote:Over 50 Bundesliga appearances also supports the "not shit" argument.

I mean no one has said he's shit, but yeah. Although I imagine a lot of those appearances were getting relegated weren't they?

None of them were. Neither team he played for were relegated in his time there.

Ok. Must be mixed up. I thought he came to us from someone who got relegated.

Snowflake Royal wrote:

NewCorkSeth wrote:

Snowflake Royal wrote: I mean no one has said he's shit, but yeah. Although I imagine a lot of those appearances were getting relegated weren't they?

None of them were. Neither team he played for were relegated in his time there.

Ok. Must be mixed up. I thought he came to us from someone who got relegated.

It's not like its important anyway. I'm with you for the rest. Decent player, bottom of the premier league is about his level.

Old Man Andrews wrote:

URZZZZ wrote:

John Smith wrote: I have to disagree. I have spoken to former teamates of his who have, and I quote, refer to him as "shit".

Anyone who thinks of him as being anything more than a cult hero is a nostalgic dreamer. We were a Div 2 team back then. Williams is Premier League quality.

Danny Williams is not a Premier League quality player (unless the game so happened to be televised). What a load of garbage. He's an average to good championship player but certainly no more

I am not sure you are qualified to judge a player based upon your recent Meite embrarrassment

Danny Williams is clearly a Premier League player but lacks the fitness to ever make it at the top level, nothing to do with his ability. Keep up the good work.

you're beyond help