So if Reading go down...

[an_ceannaire]

Where would Irish fans ideally like to see the 3 amigos go?
Long would prob stay, Doyle may too. There was talk of Doyle and Chelsea not so long ago :rolleyes:
Hunt....SundIREland maybe? Everton Possibly? Celtic perhaps?
If Doyle was to go he would most prob end up with one of the teams coming up or maybe one of teams who just stay up, Fulham would be the likely candidate.
Which of the 3 is most important to Ireland in the larger scale of things?

[drummerboy]

Hunt has done ok his season. Doyle has stagnated this season and Long hasn't progressed at all. Keane might be interested in Hunt but apart from that I can see them all staying even if relegated.

[an_ceannaire]

would think Hunt's most likely destinations would be Everton or Sunderland. He would prob choose Sunderland, but for everyones sake Everton would be a far better option....wouldnt they?
He seems like a Davey Moyes kinda player alright.
Could defo see Doyle at Celtic, replacement for Hesselink/Samaras. Better than both if he gets his head right. But Celtic would be a bad move for him in that ya he will prob score 20+ and ya the Celtic fans would love him....but....Celtic...and Scottish Football....is utter ****e, Sorry, but it is.

[tetsujin1979]

Sunderland tried to buy Hunt in the January transfer window, so if Reading went down, I would expect them to come in for him again

[eirebhoy]

As crap as the SPL is, scoring loads of goals for Celtic seems to do wonders for players at international level.

[an_ceannaire]

didnt do too much for Chris Sutton or Alan Thompson.......

[Block G Raptor]

In an Ideal word I'd like to see them at Dalymount failing that I think Doyle might end up at Villa(depending on if they get Crouch) the other 2 will most likely join Keane at SundIreland

[Wangball]

Henrik Larsson scored bagfuls of goals for Celtic & that never stopped him from being one of the most highly regarded strikers in Europe at international level so I don't really see how Doyle going to Celtic would in anyway halt his progress, could actually work wonders for him to be playing football and scoring goals in a winning team rather than playing on the right wing of a struggling mediocre side, Long would benefit from the same sort of move too...Hunt on the other hand can rot at Reading for all I care

[Maroon 7]

would think Hunt's most likely destinations would be Everton or Sunderland. He would prob choose Sunderland, but for everyones sake Everton would be a far better option....wouldnt they?
He seems like a Davey Moyes kinda player alright.
Could defo see Doyle at Celtic, replacement for Hesselink/Samaras. Better than both if he gets his head right. But Celtic would be a bad move for him in that ya he will prob score 20+ and ya the Celtic fans would love him....but....Celtic...and Scottish Football....is utter ****e, Sorry, but it is.

Scottish football is so ****e both Celtic and Rangers have reached UEFA Cup finals in recent years and more often than not both of them play regular Champions League football.

How would that be any worse for those lads than fighting relegation or mid table medocrity with the likes of Sunderland, West Ham or Wigan?

I realise it's fashionable on here to knock Scottish football but that argument is getting a little boring.

[antrimgreen]

Jesus don't hold back there Wangball, what has Hunt done on you?? If i had a pick of the 3 Hunt would be my first everytime. Managed correctly in a half decent side he could be really effective i think.

[an_ceannaire]

celtics centre backs are gary caldwell and stephen mcmanus, rangers have davie weir and christian dailly.....
those lads would not get into championship teams anumore not to mind mid table premiership sides!!!
Lee Naylor!! Phillipe Sebo!! These are awful awful footballers!

[Maroon 7]

celtics centre backs are gary caldwell and stephen mcmanus, rangers have davie weir and christian dailly.....
those lads would not get into championship teams anumore not to mind mid table premiership sides!!!
Lee Naylor!! Phillipe Sebo!! These are awful awful footballers!

If they are so bad what were Celtic doing in the last 16 of the CL and what are Rangers doing in the UEFA Cup final having knocked out Fiorentina, Sporting Lisbon, Werder Bremen, Panathinkaikos, etc? Something Tottenham and Everton were incapable of doing.

Obviously they are not as terrible as you think.

[eirebhoy]

rangers have davie weir and christian dailly.....

It's actually Weir and Cuellar which is top half premiership standard central defence. Celtic's defence is brutal though. Sebo doesn't play in Scotland because he failed there. Sutton and Thompson were never given a chance for England btw, I don't know why you mention them.

My point was that a striker will gain a lot more from playing for Celtic than he would a team that creates few chances. His intelligence in an attacking sense will improve a lot quicker if he's getting a lot of the ball. His confidence will be high if he's scoring lots of goals. His finishing will improve if he's getting 3 times more chances in a game to use it.

I definitely believe it'd be better for Doyle and Ireland if he was scoring 25 league goals for Celtic than 12 Premiership goals.

[pete]

Hopefully they get relegated, Doyle gets sold (I would settle for 5m sterling) & then Long gets promoted to Irish choice striker.

[Morbo]

Scottish football is so ****e both Celtic and Rangers have reached UEFA Cup finals in recent years and more often than not both of them play regular Champions League football.

How would that be any worse for those lads than fighting relegation or mid table medocrity with the likes of Sunderland, West Ham or Wigan?

I realise it's fashionable on here to knock Scottish football but that argument is getting a little boring.

Just because Rangers and Celtic have done well in Europe doesn't prove that the Scottish league isn't a weak league, I'm not bashing Scottish football but outside the top 2 it is kinda s***e to be honest

[Maroon 7]

Just because Rangers and Celtic have done well in Europe doesn't prove that the Scottish league isn't a weak league, I'm not bashing Scottish football but outside the top 2 it is kinda s***e to be honest

So is the Premier League outside the top teams.

Better standard than the SPL yes but it gets a bit ridiculous when you have people advocating Irish players move to very average middle of the road English clubs where the highlight of their season is avoiding relegation rather than say Celtic or Rangers (not that a move to Rangers is very likely) and the chance to play lots of European football every year.

Moving to Scotland never hurt Henrik Larsson so it doesn't have to be a bad option for all footballers.

[cheifo]

I have always thought Doyle will prove to be a top class striker.Either Reading
lack of finesse in creating chances is badly affecting him or my judgement is very poor.:o

[The Legend]

I have always thought Doyle will prove to be a top class striker.Either Reading
lack of finesse in creating chances is badly affecting him or my judgement is very poor.:o

Next season will be key for him no matter where he is.... he has just had a disaster of a season, hope he doesnt fade out, i dont think he will.

[Qwerty]

If they are so bad what were Celtic doing in the last 16 of the CL and what are Rangers doing in the UEFA Cup final having knocked out Fiorentina, Sporting Lisbon, Werder Bremen, Panathinkaikos, etc? Something Tottenham and Everton were incapable of doing.

Obviously they are not as terrible as you think.

Nobody is questioing the quality of Celtic or Rangers, that is not the point. The point is who they play week in week out, clubs such as St Mirren, Falkirk, Gretna, ICT & Kilmarnock would struggle in League 1.

Motherwell, Dundee Utd, Aberdeen & Hibs would probably struggle in the Championship.

And the only other team with money; Hearts have struggled badly this season.

So in effect Celtic & Rangers are playing at a level that is bottom of the Championship / Upper League 1. Going to SPL is a big step down. I don't think it would affect a seasoned player but if you are a young player still learning then probably developmentally it's not the place to go.

[FarBeag]

Out of the three Hunt has the better chance of finding a decent club.He has been the most consistent over the last two years.Doyle has gone down hill rapidly which is a shame, Morrison up front for Ireland imo.

[pete]

So in effect Celtic & Rangers are playing at a level that is bottom of the Championship / Upper League 1. Going to SPL is a big step down.

I agree. Clubs outside the old firm have similar budgets to LOI sides. Almost no top LOI player would choose the rest of the SPL if had a decent LOI or Championship contract. Non old firm players tend to move to League One & not the Championship in England.

Doyle would do well to leave Reading. Although in poor form he is a solid reliable pro who won't be throwing tantrums.

[tetsujin1979]

I agree. Clubs outside the old firm have similar budgets to LOI sides. Almost no top LOI player would choose the rest of the SPL if had a decent LOI or Championship contract.Wes Hoolahan went to Livingston, Noel Hunt went to Dundee, Stephen Bradley went to Falkirk

Non old firm players tend to move to League One & not the Championship in England.McFadden went to Everton when he had a choice of Celtic or Rangers.

[pete]

Wes Hoolahan went to Livingston, Noel Hunt went to Dundee, Stephen Bradley went to Falkirk


Only Hoolihan could be considered "top" player. None of them would have turned down the Championship in favour of the SPL.



McFadden went to Everton when he had a choice of Celtic or Rangers.

A rare exception. Non your average SPL player.

[ifk101]

I think Doyle started the season ok with Reading. Up until Christmas both he and Reading were doing quite well. I remember watching him play against West Ham shortly after Christmas and he and Kitson looked a really good striker partnership. You could see the amount of work the two of them had put in on the training ground as they worked tirelessly as a pair rather than two individuals. However in the new year things haven't gone Reading's way and Doyle has been played out of position a lot. I don't why this is but it quite common that a newly promoted club that enjoys success in their first promoted season usually struggles in their second season. Doyle's strength is probably his work rate and ability to work in tandem with his strike-partner. He, like all strikers, is reliant on the rest of the team and if the rest of team isn't performing there's only so much he can do. He's shown in the past he can score goals and his "poor form" is IMO a bi-product of Reading's "poor form".

Hunt brings a lot of energy to a side and is capable of helping out with the odd goal and good cross here and there but he's not a top-class player. Sunderland would be the perfect club for him.

If Reading get relegated I can see Long getting a lot more first-team opportunities and that's what he needs at his age. If Reading stay up I hope he gets loaned out to somebody willing to offer first-team football - he needs it. What I seen of Long he has shown he is a good footballer but is lacking a bit of "know-how" that comes from playing regularly.

[Greenforever]

Top clubs in UK
Man U
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool
Rangers
Celtic
after that there is a huge gap!!

surely a move to celtic with 6-8 champions league games and 4 old firm clashes and a chance of winning many of them is just as good if not better than to a mediocre premiership team with just 8 games against the top 4 and realistically hoping for 4-6 points out of those 8 games and he rest of their games at a much lower level

[an_ceannaire]

Everton are a far superior outfit to Celtic or Rangers! And Villa and Spurs prob are too

[Greenforever]

Everton are a far superior outfit to Celtic or Rangers! And Villa and Spurs prob are too

But not playing champions league nor likely to in the near future

[an_ceannaire]

maybe not, but whilst celtic are playing falkirk motherwell hibs and dundee united, everton are playing liverpool man yoo, arsenal, villa chelsea spurs etc etc etc.......
I knwo which team I would rather Irish internationals playing for and which league I would rather see them in GF

[tetsujin1979]

End of season transfer speculation, according to the Indo
Exodus at Sunderland: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keanes-summer-sale-to-spark-irish-exodus-1369311.html
Championship players in demand: http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/yeates-in-demand-as-palace-and-forest-prepare-to-move-for-dub-1369312.html

[pete]

Connolly shafted again :(

[drinkfeckarse]

No suprise to se so many of the average Irish players at Sunderland probably moving on. Keeping Stokes and loaning him out for the season would be a good move IMO, preferably to a decent Championship team. Would show us once and for all whether he can cut it or not.

[geysir]

Are Cork City still in the small print of any Kevin Doyle transfer contract?

[pete]

Are Cork City still in the small print of any Kevin Doyle transfer contract?

Would I have any interest if we did not have a cut of future transfers...

[geysir]

I was more wondering how much :)

[jbyrne]

Out of the three Hunt has the better chance of finding a decent club.He has been the most consistent over the last two years.Doyle has gone down hill rapidly which is a shame, Morrison up front for Ireland imo.

but doyle has been decent enough for Ireland this season. two well taken goals against slovakia and wales testify to that. its his Irish form that should count. any striker would struggle badly in that reading team especially when played out on the wing

[Maroon 7]

Everton are a far superior outfit to Celtic or Rangers! And Villa and Spurs prob are too

They certainly didn't show it in the UEFA Cup if they are.

[Greenforever]

maybe not, but whilst celtic are playing falkirk motherwell hibs and dundee united, everton are playing liverpool man yoo, arsenal, villa chelsea spurs etc etc etc.......
I knwo which team I would rather Irish internationals playing for and which league I would rather see them in GF

And when Celtic are playing champions league who are most premier league teams playing....

Im not advocating Celtic as being a No1 choice but its not any worse than most mid table pl teams

[SilkCut]

Doyle is still a good player just played out of position. Whoever gets him will be getting a bargain as premiership defences will have forgotten about him. Hunt is my favourite type of player like Ray Houghton used to do he gets through a huge amount of dirty work but is deceptively skillful. He would be a great foil to someone like Arteta if he stays at Everton or even Scott Parker or Mark Noble at West Ham. Long would benefit more from a season as first choice in the championship than trying to stay in the Premiership as backup to someone in a bad team.

[Maroon 7]

Reading down.

What now for our lads there?

[micls]

Reading down.

What now for our lads there?

Come joint he celebrations on our forum if you like :D

There were rumours of Keane making a joint bid for Hunt and Doyle but who knows.
Hopefully a few million for Doyle anyway
Id say Long will stay there anyway

[Stuttgart88]

Come joint he celebrations on our forum if you like :D

There were rumours of Keane making a joint bid for Hunt and Doyle but who knows.
Hopefully a few million for Doyle anyway
Id say Long will stay there anywayBBC Gossip section cites a Sunday paper as saying Sunderland will buy them both. Hunt is obviosly well admired by Keane and
Doyle would be his type of signing. If they keep Kenwynne Jones it'd push out one of Stokes or Murphy, Stokes probably, I'd guess.

[gilberto_eire]

Could be just what Long needs anyway, maybe next year he'll get more opportunities and the other two lads could end up with better clubs. This IMO could work out better for Ireland as a whole

[eekers]

Sickened. Fulham are trash personified, they should have been down long ago. =(



fulham started playing some nice attractive football under hodgson :confused:

[Dr. Ogba]

Sickened. Fulham are trash personified, they should have been down long ago. =(

Reading played well today, Hunt and Doyle particularly. It's a real shame this could be the end of them, if they stick together they'll demolish the championship like they did two years ago but I think Hunt and Doyle will move on. They'll certainly get the offers.


disagree, I think Fulham will be comfortable under Hodgson next year and as eekers pointed out, he has them playing nice football....

Now Bolton on the other hand...........

[elroy]

I think the relegation could be good for Long, help him develop a bit because he's found it tough at premiership level.

I think Reading have been a demoralised team with a good while and a large part of this is down to Coppell, he's def out of there this summer. I'd be very surprised if Reading came back up again next season. The performances they put in the last couple of months have been very poor and in truth they deserved to go down. They hadnt scored in 9 hours before yesterday!!!

[OwlsFan]

According to the same rumors Keane is supposed to be buying City Duo Dunne and Ireland too.

Why would they take a step down to Sunderland?

[as_i_say]

Sad to say it but reading deserved to go down for their truly woeful end of season displays compared to the utter heroics from fulham. might be better for all 3 to stay put and just come back up with reading-they have undoubted quality its just bizarre what happened to them.

maybe coppell has lost support of team, they seemed devoid of all confidence in the last few months

[Morbo]

Disappointing to see Reading go down and I don't agree they deserved to go down, they are def a better team than Fulham and Fulham were lucky to get Portsmouth at a time when Portsmouth had nothing to play for and were also lucky to get Sunderland at a time when Sunderland were safe too, maybe I'm just paranoid but I reckon Keane didn't really want to beat Fulham because he would prefer to see Reading relegated as he could then pick up Hunt and Doyle on the cheap

[ifk101]

maybe I'm just paranoid but I reckon Keane didn't really want to beat Fulham because he would prefer to see Reading relegated as he could then pick up Hunt and Doyle on the cheap

I'd doubt that. Keane's previous signings suggest that he's not worried about price tags. I'm sure Hunt will leave Reading in the summer, most likely to Sunderland. Not too sure about Doyle though.

[Torn-Ado]

I'd be very surprised if Hunt and Doyle were playing championship football next season.

Hunt is definite for the premiership IMO. And with all these rumours of Chelsea and Villa snapping up Doyle, I would expect that at least some middle of the road premiership side to come in for him.