Official: Adam Le Fondre signs for Reading

[pea]

What did he say? Or am I gonna have to wait til I get a Twitter DM from my mate ALFie to find out

Basically that he hasn't been phased by the speculation, he's just always focused on putting the ball in the back of the net. That Reading is a big club that was probably a Garry Monk block away from the Premiership and he came because they have a proven record of developing players and improving them and thats where he wants to be. He said that as long as he gets service he'll get goals and with Kebe and McAnuff of the wings he's got the best two wingers in the division for that and that he asked for the number 9 shirt to make a statement that he is here to replace Long and his goals and take us to the Premiership.

I like him

[Big Foot]

Very ballsy of him - good attribute for a striker

[robbieroyal]

He's clearly got confidence about him. I for one cannot wait till Watford now, I think he'll come off the bench and score.

He is right, he obviously knows where the goal is and with decent supply he could be a real 20+ a season for us!!

If we win our next two games and ALFie is scoring, Gorkss is bring a solid backline suddenly we are going to start looking encouraged again!

[SLAMMED]

I think he'll come off the bench and score.

I would start him and Hunt.

[Wizard]

I think he'll come off the bench and score.

I would start him and Hunt.

I would actually start him and Kanu, he is been our best player for the last few matches by the sound of things.

[chilipepper91]

I think he'll come off the bench and score.

I would start him and Hunt.

I would actually start him and Kanu, he is been our best player for the last few matches by the sound of things.

Same, I really don't rate Noel Hunt at all, and we'd need a bigger player up top to accompany Alfie.

[TBM]

Alf will benefit more from playing with Manset - he can play off him and latch on to his flicks/hold up play

[Ian Royal]

Alf will benefit more from playing with Manset - he can play off him and latch on to his flicks/hold up play

I agree.

But we've got a real striker conundrum. None of them really stand our because they've all got quite big weaknesses, and none really obviously compliment each other, expect perhaps Manset / HRK & Le Fondre, but that is very very inexperienced.

Hunt - very good scoring record when fit, closest to Long in style IMO and by far the most experienced at this level. Doesn't add a great deal when not actually scoring though.
Le Fondre - utterly unproven at this level and apparently a bit of a lazy poacher, but a fantastic scoring record at a lower level.
Manset - big, strong, good feet but a bit clumsy and not quite fit enough, not very experienced.
HRK - tall, quick, fairly strong and skillful, but more at home on the wing and tries to do a little too much sometimes. Fairly inexperienced at this level, especially upfront.
Church - good alround with pace, passing, awareness and skill. Lacking in confidence, not a great finisher at the moment and tendency to be offside a lot

Six months time and it could look really good, if the right choices are made and players step up and prove themselves. It's rather uncertain now though.

[leon]

I can see a Church/Le Fondre partnership. I don't want to, but I can.

[loyalroyal4life]

What did he say? Or am I gonna have to wait til I get a Twitter DM from my mate ALFie to find out

Basically that he hasn't been phased by the speculation, he's just always focused on putting the ball in the back of the net. That Reading is a big club that was probably a Garry Monk block away from the Premiership and he came because they have a proven record of developing players and improving them and thats where he wants to be. He said that as long as he gets service he'll get goals and with Kebe and McAnuff of the wings he's got the best two wingers in the division for that and that he asked for the number 9 shirt to make a statement that he is here to replace Long and his goals and take us to the Premiership.

I like him

Mcanuff and Kebe best wingers in the division????? Certainly not for service into the box!

[Here for the KEBE]

In a year or so Manset and Le Fondre would rip up this league but it's a tough one to call now. But leaving Hunt in just because he's more experienced would be like sacrificing a player- we've seen enough of him to suggest he's not going to improve and he's pretty average as it is.

[Platypuss]

In a year or so Manset and Le Fondre would rip up league 1 but it's a tough one to call now.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

manset couldnt rip up a piece of paper

[brendywendy]

hell rip off you head and shit a big steamy turd down your neck if you aint careful

[Hoop Blah]

In a year or so Manset and Le Fondre would rip up this league but it's a tough one to call now.

That may well be true, in which case we'll be able to cash in on their development and make a nice tidy profit.

In the meantime what do we do?

But leaving Hunt in just because he's more experienced would be like sacrificing a player- we've seen enough of him to suggest he's not going to improve and he's pretty average as it is.

Hunt has shown that with the right partner he can be reasonably effective in this league, if he can stay fit enough to play enough games and also get through enough 90 minutes.

I'm not sure either Manset or Robson-Kanu are the right partner for him, and from the times they've played together in the past I'm pretty certain that Church isn't. Le Fondre might well be the player to make a working partnership but I think we'll see quite a bit of experimentation in the next month or so as McDermott looks for his most effective partnership.

[Barry the bird boggler]

Too many ifs with Hunt, start Manset and Le Fondre.

[Hoop Blah]

Too many ifs with Hunt, start Manset and Le Fondre.

Two big IFs with Manset as well though aren't there?

Is he good enough?

Can he last more than 60/70 minutes of leading the line and still be capable of making a run when needed?

[andrew1957]

From the report on the OS Brian has no idea which partnership will work either. It will be trial and error.

I think this season the best we can hope for is mid table - but if we keep the current squad together next summer then I could see us mounting a promotion bid next season.

[RoyalBlue]

From the report on the OS Brian has no idea which partnership will work either. It will be trial and error.

I think this season the best we can hope for is mid table - but if we keep the current squad together next summer then I could see us mounting a promotion bid next season.

That's a very big IF. There will no doubt be another hole (black or otherwise) that will need filling come next summer and which will see our next most valuable assets flogged off.

[Royal Rother]