derry

I think we played better as a team in the second half when Hammond and Chaplow played closer to each other. Up to then they were mostly about 50 yds apart. It's the same with the two stikers they have to double team and play off each other. The second goal, Davis, Lambert nod on, Barnard shot blocked, Lambert scores from 12 yds was the way they should play but often Lambert drifts wide and leaves Barnard isolated.

Howard would be my no1 now or the close season. As it isn't likely to happen we couldn't do better than get Gary Jones the Rochdale skipper/Playmaker and leading scorer (14 ish in league). 33 I know but he knows how to direct and run a midfield.

Tall fairly quick left sided midfielder.

If Utd don't pay up front it won't happen, we don't do the never never. There is no point in letting him go for half now and half maybe sometime never. Set a fee plus a sell on and let him go for that.

Central midfield is an important specialist position. We are in too tight a situation regarding automatic promotion to gamble in any way shape or form on a stopgap or an inexperienced midfielder.

There are two things in this that haven't been said, I actually think that Reading didn't want him to go but had to tell him of our enquiry because he would want to look at it as it is his home club. Secondly knowing Saints paranoia about secrecy leaked it immediately to the Reading press and also insisted that if they wanted to recall him they could. I think if this was true it was the recall condition that stopped us going any further with it. Brian obviously had a decent game at Barnsley because McDermott talked to him about their run in and his further involvement. In my view he would have made a big improvement to our midfield and teamplay and it is our loss.

I've seen Doble play but I thought he lacked pace. I wouldn't want to rely on him. As for Chamberlain he might have ambitions to be a central midfielder but he would be a lightweight seventeen year old trying to fight it out in the centre of midfield. He may be one day but I wouldn't want to lose him out wide this season.

Obviously trying to get rid of him.

Patently you don't have a clue how Brian Howard plays. He is a left side, central midfield playmaker and would be ideal to serve the wide men and play forward passes up to the front two. We don't have a playmaker, even Schneiderlin isn't a playmaker he just links up and goes sideways and backwards to keep possession, his forward attacking passing is almost non existant. Howard on the other hand is always looking to put the ball into the attacking danger area someting we need.

It's amazing that there are so many critics of Brian Howard on here. Some of the biggest critics don't even go to our games, never mind Readings, yet have expert opinion on a player they either have never seen or seen once in a blue moon. More than likely based on the expert opinions on the Reading forum. He is on no more money than our highest paid players. He has had injuries this season and suspension for a sending off. Lots of our players have also had injuries but he has still played in 22 games. He is a better end product passer of the ball than anybody at this club and is capable of lifting our central midfield which is a long way short of playing well. Having said that he isn't coming unless we do something this week. Reading are not trying to get rid of him just because we enquired, he had to be told, it was left up to him as we have done with players this year. He has a contract until 2013 and doesn't need to go anywhere. The current defensive midfield at Reading is not his style at the moment, if it stops working he could be back in favour again. Reading are not putting any pressure on him to go and as we never went back with any offer he won't be coming unless we do.

Hugh Fisher definitely on left as I speak to him most weeks. It doesn't look like Paul Gilchrist?

I don't think so. Could that be Chris Woods on the left?

Colin Clarke.

Kerry Dixon, Graham Baker, Terry Paine, Ivan Golac, pass???, Charlie George, Hugh Fisher with ???? Terry Hurlock maybe.

Nice to see a competent analysis.

Of course, central midfield is where it really isn't happening for us and for me is the way we can get the best from the four attackers if we get in an incisive passer like Howard.

Every time I've seen him play he looks a class act. Certainly better than anybody we've got here. It's all about providing an end product and that is what he is good at. He puts the ball into dangerous areas which we don't do nearly quickly enough.

I get the feeling at the moment that Reading aren't interested in letting him play for somebody else and still paying some of his wages. They are quite happy for him to be available to them. I think it's a case we pay him or it doesn't happen. Either way we haven't pursued it yet and maybe don't intend to.

Agreed, it's not about the football but there is a very fine line between scoring from set pieces and not scoring at all. The central midfield isn't really working and we aren't getting much from general play. On the run in the games will get tighter because a lot of the games will mean a lot for one reason or another to our opponents. That means we have to be able to get goals from all phases at some point but at the moment we don't seem able to get much out of general play which could well cause us to drop points.

In some respects his statement is true. Lambert is a long way short of last years scoring record and only has 8 goals from play in about 40 matches. We are also scoring the majority of goals in the last few matches as a result of set pieces.

We are talking about the loan period. There hasn't been an offer to match his contract, in fact there appears to have been no contact at all since the original enquiry. It may be we don't want to match his contract.

Hardly any player we have signed in the last two seasons happened without press and website speculation. Certainly, Lambert, Barnard, Hammond, Jaidi, Dickson, Richardson, Martin, Seaborne, in fact apart from Butterfield, Chaplow, N'guessan and Forte everybody.

Everything is factual. We contacted Reading, he'd know more by the end of the week, his agent has spoken to Saints, there has been no contact, nothing is happening, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. He'd like to come on loan and earn a contract if we are promoted. He wasn't asking for more money but would need his contract to be matched. I haven't spoken to Brian but he knows the questions came from me and he was honest with his answers which are hardly more than common sense. Unlike the Echo/Reading media speculation and jumping the gun.

I haven't spoken to Brian, but he has answered some basic questions via my son. He can hardly blab about nothing happening. It is common knowledge that he wants to play for Saints, lives locally, and is a Saints supporter. His contract was announced by Reading last close season and the level I presume is similar to our highest paid players. What he has said is Saints know his contract and he isn't asking for more than that which seems fair to me. We need him more than he needs us. We either match his contract or he stays at Reading or goes to some other club. Reading say we haven't been in contact since the first enquiry which doesn't seem like a lot of interest to me.

He isn't talking to anybody except when asked because nothing is happening. It's in the press, McDermott is quoted, saying that nothing is happening is hardly going to make a difference. Saying that he would be a good signing is what this site is about, opinions. If the club think they are going to be able to sign player without publicity they won't be signing many good players, Oh!!!. The better the player the greater the speculation.