Rumour - Noel Hunt to Bristol City

[Platypuss]

Hunt and Church helped us get here, if they don't make at least 15 appearances each this season I will be very surprised.

I'll be absolutely gutted.
If you stand still you get left behind. These two are not the future.

[Basildon]

Would like to see Hunt stick around, i think he could be useful for us as back-up this season. however, i dont think he will be happy as just back up, he may be looking elsewhere for first team football.

[royal_cornwall]

One thing you may not consider with players like Hunt is the influence they have in the dressing room. He is a massive character around Reading and letting him go would be hugely unpopular.

Spot on! Keep Church ad Hunt, they are a big part of the squad and family that is Reading FC, as long as Brian is in charge we wont see anyone forced out.

Would much rather see Hunt and Church pull on the hoops every week and run themselves into the ground giving their all, than Ronaldo and Messi going out thinking about the pounds and f all else

I can ignore your Ronaldo and Messi example as i'm sure on reflection you must regret saying that now, But surely you can't honestly think that we can move forward
with the likes of Church and Hunt? and, if we had to use each of them in 15 matches this season be confident we can avoid relegation?

[LightwaterRoyal]

One thing you may not consider with players like Hunt is the influence they have in the dressing room. He is a massive character around Reading and letting him go would be hugely unpopular.

Spot on! Keep Church and Hunt, they are a big part of the squad and family that is Reading FC, as long as Brian is in charge we wont see anyone forced out.

Would much rather see Hunt and Church pull on the hoops every week and run themselves into the ground giving their all, than Ronaldo and Messi going out thinking about the pounds and f all else

I can ignore your Ronaldo and Messi example as i'm sure on reflection you must regret saying that now, But surely you can't honestly think that we can move forward
with the likes of Church and Hunt? and, if we had to use each of them in 15 matches this season be confident we can avoid relegation?

I dont ever want to see Messi or Ronaldo play ahead of our players that have proved they are willing to give their all, if the players in question were lazy and disinterested I wouldnt be saying the same thing. I just think that their grit, determination and bravery (not so much Church) can take us a long way, add to that the team spirit they are a big part. In my opinion they are two of the most important players in this squad, particularly off the pitch.

Id be more confident of staying up with these two than a couple of world superstars

[RockheadRumple]

[royal_cornwall]

Spot on! Keep Church and Hunt, they are a big part of the squad and family that is Reading FC, as long as Brian is in charge we wont see anyone forced out.

Would much rather see Hunt and Church pull on the hoops every week and run themselves into the ground giving their all, than Ronaldo and Messi going out thinking about the pounds and f all else

I can ignore your Ronaldo and Messi example as i'm sure on reflection you must regret saying that now, But surely you can't honestly think that we can move forward
with the likes of Church and Hunt? and, if we had to use each of them in 15 matches this season be confident we can avoid relegation?

I dont ever want to see Messi or Ronaldo play ahead of our players that have proved they are willing to give their all, if the players in question were lazy and disinterested I wouldnt be saying the same thing. I just think that their grit, determination and bravery (not so much Church) can take us a long way, add to that the team spirit they are a big part. In my opinion they are two of the most important players in this squad, particularly off the pitch.

Id be more confident of staying up with these two than a couple of world superstars

Sorry but i can't agree with your ideology on this. At what point does the matter of skill/ability come into it all? The world superstars you speak of are "World Superstars"
for a reason, and i would confidently assume its not because they haven't been team players most of the time. I also think that the 100 odd goals they scored between them last season could be, even if scaled down to a generous 60 would be enough to keep us up.

[LightwaterRoyal]

Honestly I'm so sure of what I'm saying, I can see how it sounds ridiculous though. At the end of the day I'd much rather see Hunt and Church in the hoops than players who arent going to give their all for this club

[Franchise FC]

Honestly I'm so sure of what I'm saying, I can see how it sounds ridiculous though. At the end of the day I'd much rather see Hunt and Church in the hoops than players who arent going to give their all for this club

Can't disagree with that.

[RockheadRumple]

Honestly I'm so sure of what I'm saying, I can see how it sounds ridiculous though. At the end of the day I'd much rather see Hunt and Church in the hoops than players who arent going to give their all for this club

That's fair. I think you would've been beter off mentioning, say, Bellamy or Adebayor rather than Messi or Ronaldo.

[Plymouth_Royal]

I'll drive him there now.

Great bloke and very good role model professional but if all you have is a lots of work ethic and no QUALITY, you're not going to make it in the prem. I can see Mcd holding onto him until Jan to be fair and then getting rid. It's a harsh reality but if we want to survive we're going to have to be a bit ruthless in terms of who to keep and who to move on.

[Ian Royal]

I'll drive him there now.

Great bloke and very good role model professional but if all you have is a lots of work ethic and no QUALITY, you're not going to make it in the prem. I can see Mcd holding onto him until Jan to be fair and then getting rid. It's a harsh reality but if we want to survive we're going to have to be a bit ruthless in terms of who to keep and who to move on.

For Noel Hunt in the PL see also Steven Hunt. Neither are particularly good technically, both are big on being try hards. Noel Hunt will plug away, cause problems and work hard, and provided he plays off a good in form striker, like Pog, he'll pick up a decent number of goals. Be it starting, or more likely, from the bench.

[Handsome Man]

I'll drive him there now.

Great bloke and very good role model professional but if all you have is a lots of work ethic and no QUALITY, you're not going to make it in the prem. I can see Mcd holding onto him until Jan to be fair and then getting rid. It's a harsh reality but if we want to survive we're going to have to be a bit ruthless in terms of who to keep and who to move on.

For Noel Hunt in the PL see also Steven Hunt. Neither are particularly good technically, both are big on being try hards. Noel Hunt will plug away, cause problems and work hard, and provided he plays off a good in form striker, like Pog, he'll pick up a decent number of goals. Be it starting, or more likely, from the bench.

Noel isn't half player Stephen is though.

[RepressedRoyal]

Honestly I'm so sure of what I'm saying, I can see how it sounds ridiculous though. At the end of the day I'd much rather see Hunt and Church in the hoops than players who arent going to give their all for this club

That's fair. I think you would've been beter off mentioning, say, Bellamy or Adebayor rather than Messi or Ronaldo.

For what it's worth, Ronaldo and Messi didn't become the best players in world football for shirking hard work in return for a wedge of cash, it just doesn't work like that. The best players are always, without exception, the ones who have put in the man hours on the training ground. In the unlikely event that Hunt was sold to Bristol City I would be more than happy to replace him with Messi, though one suspects that might be even more unlikely.

[LightwaterRoyal]

Honestly I'm so sure of what I'm saying, I can see how it sounds ridiculous though. At the end of the day I'd much rather see Hunt and Church in the hoops than players who arent going to give their all for this club

That's fair. I think you would've been beter off mentioning, say, Bellamy or Adebayor rather than Messi or Ronaldo.

For what it's worth, Ronaldo and Messi didn't become the best players in world football for shirking hard work in return for a wedge of cash, it just doesn't work like that. The best players are always, without exception, the ones who have put in the man hours on the training ground. In the unlikely event that Hunt was sold to Bristol City I would be more than happy to replace him with Messi, though one suspects that might be even more unlikely.

Not denying that, but if we were only a goal up in the last minute you could bet your mortgage that Hunt or Church would be blocking shots at our goal with there testicles if they had to. Take that Burnley defender last season for example, something British and Irish players seem to have over foreign players is that they will do anything for their teammates and vice versa.

[robbieroyal]

[quote="Not denying that, but if we were only a goal up in the last minute you could bet your mortgage that Hunt or Church would be blocking shots at our goal with there testicles if they had to. Take that Burnley defender last season for example, something British and Irish players seem to have over foreign players is that they will do anything for their teammates and vice versa.[/quote]

Very true.

[Spud Gun]

There's a lot of bollock$ on this thread ... unbelievably so even for this forum. I can only assume the Hunt haters are judging him on goals scored and nothing else.

Hunt's workrate and his willingness to put his head and feet where it hurts unsettle the opposition defence. Also it makes him an outlet for the channel balls we play out from defence. It was very noticeable last season that whenever Hunt came off, and Church or Le Fondre replaced him, we couldn't hold the ball up anywhere near as well.

Hunt's versatility also allows us to have fluidity in our formation. Hunt was dropped back to make a 5 man midfield or pick up a deep lying midfielder many times last season. Ultimately this stopped us from being over run in midfield and helped the team out. Kind of makes it harder to score goals when you're further back than the other striker doesn't it!

But sure, let's write off one of our players before a ball has been kicked in the Prem and encourage him to leave

[Royal Lady]

Noel tweeted the other day that it was news to him - I'm pretty sure McD wants him as cover in case of injuries etc - I'd keep Hunt over Church - but expect them both to be RFC players on the first game of the season.

[pea]

Roberts first choice- suspended
Hunt second choice - gone
Church - usually preferred to Alfie
Alfie - only brought on if we need goals late in the game, rarely starts

Can see why they came to that conclusion, just because most fans wouldn't pair the two doesn't mean BMc won't

[SCIAG]

That's fair. I think you would've been beter off mentioning, say, Bellamy or Adebayor rather than Messi or Ronaldo.

For what it's worth, Ronaldo and Messi didn't become the best players in world football for shirking hard work in return for a wedge of cash, it just doesn't work like that. The best players are always, without exception, the ones who have put in the man hours on the training ground. In the unlikely event that Hunt was sold to Bristol City I would be more than happy to replace him with Messi, though one suspects that might be even more unlikely.

Not denying that, but if we were only a goal up in the last minute you could bet your mortgage that Hunt or Church would be blocking shots at our goal with there testicles if they had to. Take that Burnley defender last season for example, something British and Irish players seem to have over foreign players is that they will do anything for their teammates and vice versa.

You really need to think these things through. If a shot needed blocking I'd rather have Vidic or Thiago Silva or Tevez or Gattuso or Kuyt trying to block it than Hunt or Church. Working hard for the team and being brave are not exclusively British and Irish qualities.

[melonhead]

that appears to be a list of some of the worlds best players though, and not really ones that should or could be on our radar