Sent Off From The Bench

A first win in eight as Reading beat a surprisingly dull Leeds side. In many ways the story was not so different to matches within our winless run, but thankfully we came up against a far more profligate outfit. Much like against Norwich the first half was excellent. There was much more cohesion going forward, although there weren't many chances. The best coming from Aluko, who forced a good save down low to the keeper's right. It must be said, at times Leeds made Beerens seem like Messi, but the final ball was often lacking. Perhaps surprisingly with only four at the back, Reading excelled defensively. The most complete performance at the back that I have seen in quite a while - Leeds basically didn't have a sniff. There were a couple of chances that they managed to get behind, but Ilori and Bacuna managed to get back and make the tackle. Bacuna was particularly impressive all game, after half time there was a chance where three Leeds players were bearing down on Manon...

September was not a particularly good month for Reading Football Club. Two points from fifteen see us (quote, unquote) languishing toward the wrong end of the Championship. Poor football has exacerbated the fans' annoyance, but are things really as bad as they seem? Played five, drawn two, lost three. It sounds bad, but when you consider the goal difference over those five matches is only -3 (or the same as our loss away to Brentford last year) it's clear that we're much closer than our points haul makes out. We're not shipping goals in blow out losses like last season. Instead all our problems are at the other end. Four goals in the same period is a serious issue, and thus we come to the start of our bad run - game one, Bristol City at home. Now this, unequivocally, was a game that we should have won. Bodvarsson allowed the critics in with a fairly substandard performance that allowed ex-Swindon centre back Aden Flint to win it late on. Bristol went into the intern...

29 May 2017, 17:49 - Liam Kelly hammers a penalty into the roof of the net in front of the Huddersfield end of Wembley to put Reading 3-1 up, and on the verge of the Premier League. Stam's side had been brushed off as promotion contenders for most of the year, but after a third place finish - made all the more remarkable by three successive managerial failures, and finishes of 17th and 19th in the two previous seasons - it seemed they would, like John Cena, overcome the odds once more to reach the promised land. Of course, it wasn't to work out like that, but Stam instilled a new feeling of genuine hope that hadn't been at the Madejski since, arguably, McDermott guided the team to the Championship title half a decade prior. Just four months down the line and there are some calling for his head. Of the team that started the final Williams and Al Habsi have left, Swift and Kermorgant injured, and Grabban's loan expired. Then Obita, an integral part of the squad la...

Back to Earth with a bit of a bump, a 4-1 loss to Brentford signalling the end of eight games unbeaten. Although disappointing, I'll definitely take more 4-1 losses if they sandwich runs of eight games without loss. To be honest, and this may sound ridiculous given the scoreline, I didn't think we played that much worse than against Huddersfield, but Brentford's parity in terms of numbers, combined with the ability to actually punish mistakes. It didn't really start well when within thirty seconds Liam Moore had already punted the ball downfield, and Reading never really managed to get hold of it again in the first half, culminating in two late goals. The first was a fairly nice flowing Brentford move, where the home side's continual man over eventually paid dividends. However, Obita constantly let his man inside of him which gave the opportunity to begin with. He consistently tries to read the pass into the feet of the man on the outside, which allows the ball...

A somewhat interesting summer has seen a fair bit of change. McDermott replaced by Stam, the instrumental Norwood following the prodigal son in Tshibola out the door, and a not insignificant influx of talent under the guidance of the new boss and the sharply dressed Brian Tevreden. And the new management structure is a good place to start. Reading Stam's and Tevreden's interviews there seems to be a fair bit of reason for optimism. By the sounds of it a great deal of the thinking behind Stam's appointment is his dedication to youth - and our transfer policy also reflects that. If we can take the DoF at his word then the reason to turn down signing Campi was because of our options within the academy. It's almost the actual dream. Not just that, we've been turning down signings based on the fact they don't fit the system. It's all very Barcelona. With the departure of Norwood there's now a big chance for Liam Kelly in particular, who seems ...

Today, as well as the launch of the new kits, Reading's academy were drawn into EFL Trophy Southern Group A alongside Bristol Rovers, Portsmouth, and Yeovil. With away trips to Fratton Park and the Memorial Ground there's certainly incentive for our fans, but I'm still against academy sides entering the competition. For one, part of this seems to have been set up for the Premier League sides but the likes of Arsenal, the Manchester clubs, and Liverpool are conspicuous in their absence; the addition of Championship clubs seems to be in response to this snub. The emphasis on academies playing one team at the club's 'actual' stadium was surely so some sides get the chance to play at Old Trafford, Anfield, and The Emirates. So while Oxford get the chance to play at Stamford Bridge and Northampton will visit the Olympic Stadium others will end up with a trip to The Hawthorns, The AMEX, and Carrow Road which is less glamorous. I'm not entirely sure what side teams...

There's been upheaval at Reading in recent years, and this summer is no different, with even the Bosnian Messi leaving the club. However, more seriously, there's a few first teamers that won't be here come August as well. Hal Robson-Kanu is having an absolute whale of a time on international duty with his country. The fella now has - allegedly - multiple offers from the Premier League. However at the club the guy has been phoning it in since our relegation, after arguably being our best player in the top division. I decided to check out his stats, and wasn't surprised at what I found. "Player has no significant strengths" really does sum it up. He does, however, show up in the big games, so it's possible that a step up would actually get the best out of him. I was sad about losing him until he said running down his contract was the best decision of his life - at which point it's time to say goodbye and hope he fails at his next club. Hal Robs...