Reading FC

Brian McDermott has no concerns about Premier League clubs monitoring his rising crop of Royals stars
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McDermott not worried by Premier League interest in Reading stars

By Jonny Fordham
March 10, 2010

Brian McDermott has no concerns about Premier League clubs monitoring his rising crop of Royals stars, insisting they all have their feet firmly on the ground.

A host of top-flight clubs have been linked with Reading players following the club’s impressive FA Cup run that saw them reach the quarter-finals for the first time in 83 years.

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Goalkeeper Adam Federici has been linked to Tottenham Hotspur, while he and 21-year-old striker Simon Church have also attracted the attention of Liverpool.

Iceland ace Gylfi Sigurdsson, 20, has been getting rave reviews along with Turkey Under-21 midfielder Jem Karacan, who has been linked with Galatasaray and Besiktas in the past.

Centre-back Matt Mills, 23, has also attracted the interest of several Championship and top-flight clubs after making a £2million switch from Doncaster Rovers in August.

And McDermott said that, even though some players might leave in the summer, he can live with the speculation as long as his young talents remain focused on helping Reading avoid relegation from the Championship.

He said: “People will come from Premier League clubs and watch them play.

“I have no problem with that. I used to do that for a living,” added Royals’ boss, who was formerly the club’s chief scout.

“They’re putting themselves on alert for doing great for the club and that’s the key. They’re doing fantastically well for themselves.

“You can see around the place and from the atmosphere that the players are level-headed. They’ve been brought up the right way at Reading and that’s important.

“They’re Reading players through and through and they have a real feel for the club and I like that.”

McDermott also wants to keep hold of loanees Ryan Bertrand from Chelsea, Andy Griffin from Stoke City and Zurab Khizanishvili from Blackburn Rovers.

However, he admits that he will leave it until the summer before making contact with the players’ clubs and representatives.

McDermott said: “There’s no point in thinking about the players who will be here at the end of the season. I just have to plan for the next game.

“At this moment I can’t even think about the summer. I have to think about us between now and the end of the season and the next game against Derby at Madejski Stadium tonight (8pm kick-off).

“The team has come a long way, but there’s still a lot to come from these guys. We’ve got young players who will get better and better.”

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2006/2007 in the Prem, we didn't need investment as shown by the end of season result by finishing more than safe in 8th place.

2007/2008 we bought Cisse for ~£1m, Matejovski for £1.5m, Rosenior for £undiscolsed, Kebe for £undisclosed.

So we did spend whilst in the Prem. God I hate this debate as it's always the same whining about this magical 'hole' in the budget. It's like those fans who talk like that are from a different planet; deaf and blind to the reality of football today. If money was actually disappearing into SJM's pockets, we would know about it. Nuff said. *yaaaaaaaaaaaaawn*

Doctor Dave
12/03/2010 at 17:40

Crow on the thorne or cuckoo of the cloud land

is that libellous - hahahaha

Take a Chill Pill!
12/03/2010 at 16:53

"Wendy McB -during RFC's 2 years in prem league they spent virtually nothing on new players. Coppell said he had £20 million to spend but wouldn't waste it. Over a 15 month period we sold players to the value of at least £30 million and we gave away lots on high salaries.

We have then received two lots of parachute payments and we are told despite this seasons payments and the £15 million plus we received for Doyle, Hunt etc and the very substantial reduction in salaries that we are only going to break even."

just go and check the accounts. they are available at companys house, and at the begginning of the season the club released a detailed financial statement in response to the "wheres all the money gone" merchants. its all in there. we'll make a profit this year due to the cup run, lose the remaining high earners and be fine for next year IMO. but to suggest that JM has syphoned money out of the club to support his other businesses is still daft, incorrect, and possibly libellous, as i stated.

and LOL at the idea that we spent nothing on players in the prem. we spent more than we have ever done before.and had offers knocked back on even more expensive players.

that said , of course if a decent prem team comes in and offers >2million for any of them we are bound to think about it, thats just the situation we are in.

wendy mcbrendy, crow on the thorne
12/03/2010 at 10:41

TaCP,

I remember Copps saying he had money to spend with no specific figure attached to it - bearing in mind £2.5 is the most weve spent on a player(and he was toilet!) I doubt we would have ever spent that much!

If we break even this season that would be an achievement - but that does not necessarily mean we will be £20m in debt next season - remember we have made significant cuts to salaries and new players signed will not be on anything llike the players who have left...

Cisse, Matejovsky, Ingi will probably go so another couple of mill of the wage bill - I'm sure there will be others but they may well command significant fees -- what real choice does the club have if SJM isn't prepared to pump the level he has invested in recent years then it has to make cuts.

Worth pointing out that £3 mill plus spent on players this year which is pretty significant for a champ club.

As I said before enjoy the fact the club is playing well and is not burdened by the kind of debt that will see off some clubs before the years out.

The HMRC will get their way soon and clubs won't be allowed into administration as easily as they are at present and they will be wound up and ended!

Robsy , Reading
11/03/2010 at 13:47

Wendy McB -during RFC's 2 years in prem league they spent virtually nothing on new players. Coppell said he had £20 million to spend but wouldn't waste it. Over a 15 month period we sold players to the value of at least £30 million and we gave away lots on high salaries.

We have then received two lots of parachute payments and we are told despite this seasons payments and the £15 million plus we received for Doyle, Hunt etc and the very substantial reduction in salaries that we are only going to break even.

If that is true what does next season hold with no £15 million and no parachute payments. We have a relatively small squad - about 20 regulars - can we really be in line to lose over £20 million.

If this is true far from expecting £100 million for the club would it not be best to give it away!!

Get real!!

Take a Chill Pill!
11/03/2010 at 13:32

Be real people! If an offer comes in one of the youngsters and it decent we will sell.

Enjoy the way things are going at the moment - we look more balanced, we are scoring and importantly moving in the right direction.

We are not in a Cardiff/CP/Pmouth position.

Roll on Brizzle & QPR then a couple of tough but not impossible fixtures away then the baggies - 10pts from those 5 games would pretty much secure status for next season -- more an who knows!

We can dream - enjoy it people

C'mon URZZZZ!

Robsy , Reading
11/03/2010 at 11:51

"Ingi can go, so can that donkey Kebe. "

-LOL, thats just moronic

"I'm afraid we have another manager (albeit a good one based upon 3 months record) who is saying what the Chairman expects him to say. Assuming RFC do not get promotion there will be more sales of assets in the close season.

No sensible supporter expects SJM to bank role the club but equally all the signs are he has taken out millions and millions in the last year or two for other businesses. "

again moronic. check the accounts, and look at tghe rest of the clubs in the country before spouting rubbish. and the last sentence may even be libellous- hes not taken a penny out of the club

wendy mcbrendy, crow on the thorne
11/03/2010 at 11:17

I'm afraid we have another manager (albeit a good one based upon 3 months record) who is saying what the Chairman expects him to say. Assuming RFC do not get promotion there will be more sales of assets in the close season.

No sensible supporter expects SJM to bank role the club but equally all the signs are he has taken out millions and millions in the last year or two for other businesses.

A good run now will damage us for next season if key players are sold. We will then have the first half of next season like the first half of this season when new players and young players are trying to gel.

Only good news is what has happened to Portsmouth after their weakened team lost to Fulham and cost us relegation 2 years ago. Can't wait for the home game against Pompey next season!!

Take a Chill Pill!
11/03/2010 at 10:12

How they meant to get back into the premiership with out proper investment? So whats the case just keep using the acadamy to bring in the good young talent and then make money out of them. If you are going to make a stand and try sign those players you have to do it now. That team have the potential of being promotion contenders for next season JM so wake up and get your arms out of those deep pockets of yours and make a commment to the fans. Lets see if you have the bottle and spend a bit of cash so the team can compete with the rest of the championship. If not put the club up for sale again for a relistic price and sell it move on.

Expom, Christchurch New Zealand
11/03/2010 at 04:28

Reading do have a large squad at present. Quality rather than quantity has to be the watchword in the summer, surely. Sell periferal players, to get them off the wage bill at the very least.

PHILOSOPHERDAN, Coley Park
10/03/2010 at 23:45

Some of the comments on here just go to prove that you can fool some of the people all of the time! The club that we were assured for years was so splendidly run by the present Chairman, Chief Exec etc. has seen all of the money gained over the years of success disappear (despite extremely prudent spending) and is now just one step away from the ultimate doomsday scenario!

So we should now expect and accept the rest of our quality players being sold off or be responsible for the club going bust?! You have got to be joking.

As for selling off and rebuilding not being the end of the world as suugested by Doctor Dave - haven't we learned our lesson from the start of this season? And BTW, despite the recent uplift in form we still can't be sure that the flogging off of our family silver won't result in our relegation at the end of this season.

HARB
10/03/2010 at 18:49

Big P is right - we are still living off parachute payments, and if we don't sell the worst case is that we'd head for the lower leagues and beyond via bankruptcy/administration/liquidation again anyway...

I think it's flattering that Prem clubs are interested - obviously we have good scouts and a good academy. Other clubs have had to deal with selling their best players to try balance the books (e.g. Victor Moses leaving Palace - but that didn't help much did it!). We have time to consolidate this season with our current squad. If people want to buy our players, let them buy, we make a bit of cash and we can rebuild during the summer. It's not the end of the world.

Doctor Dave
10/03/2010 at 17:09

Valerie Spanxx, Kebe to go.... I take it you are being sarcastic, either that or you are blind and or know nothing about football....The lad is one of the biggest reasons we have moved on recently.

Brother Horus
10/03/2010 at 16:53

We all know that come the summer JM will continue to sell and not spend. We are a selling club and with JM at the helm that won't change.

I thank him for what he has done, but times and expectations change. He needs to move on or this club will will remain stagnant or worse go backwards.