What the pundits think about Reading this season

[The Colonel]

I'm only concerned how Lawro tips us. If he says we'll finish top 10, we'll be relegated for sure!

The thatch-headed twat was on 5-live on Sunday.

You will be delighted to hear that he tipped Reading as "one of the sides that could struggle". I think the reason given was that teams will now know all about us now (Lawro being original and insightful as ever). Surprisingly, the lack of big-money signings was not given as a reason.

[glosson]

Found this at http://www.foxsoccer.com


Reading
Past performances: 4th C, 9th C, 7th C, 1st C, 8th
Significant Moves In: Kalifa Cisse (Boavista), Emerse Fae (Nantes)

Significant Moves Out: Greg Halford (Sunderland), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea)

Win the title? 500/1

Fire the Manager! Steve Coppell, 25/1

Top scorer last season: Kevin Doyle, 13

Synopsis: Last summer critics were aghast when manager Steve Coppell decided to keep faith with the players that had secured promotion for Reading. When the Premiership kicked off last season not one Reading player had top flight experience in England.

However, Coppell's gut instinct was spot on and Reading cruised through their first-ever season in the Premiership. Once again, manager Steve Coppell appears to be largely content with his Reading squad.

Full-back Emerse Fae was signed late last week from relegated side Nantes for a record club fee and joins another French defender Kalifa Cisse signed from Portuguese club Boavista. Leaving the Madjeski Stadium are little-used full-back Greg Halford (only signed from Colchester in January but sold on to Sunderland at a $2m+ profit) and influential midfielder Steve Sidwell (Chelsea on a Bosman transfer). The questions of how and who will replace Sidwell (former Arsenal player) are still to be answered.

Last season, Kevin Doyle carried much of the scoring load with 13 league goals and although no other Reading player hit double figures, 13 other players did chip in with goals through the Premiership season. Leroy Lita enjoyed a good run of scoring with six of his seven goals coming during and just after the Christmas period. Fellow striker Dave Kitson only managed two goals although he missed almost six months of the season after being injured on the opening day of last season.

Season's narrative: Can Reading avoid the second-season jinx?




Prediction: 11th

[Gus the teenage cow]

what are the symptomns of second-season syndrome?


-players stalling on new contracts
- a star performer in a key position leaving
- new arrivals from struggling clubs in foreign unheralded leagues finding it difficult to mix
- a lack of transfer activity

[glosson]

- other clubs now know better than to underestimate the ability of the newly promoted club

[Gus the teenage cow]

-players already here get complacent, think the league is easy all of a season, the fear and urgency is gone from us

[Fat Leather Jacket]

-players already here get complacent, think the league is easy all of a season, the fear and urgency is gone from us

And how would you know that?

[Stranded]

what are the symptomns of second-season syndrome?


-players stalling on new contracts
- a star performer in a key position leaving
- new arrivals from struggling clubs in foreign unheralded leagues finding it difficult to mix
- a lack of transfer activity

Thinking that spending shedloads of money or supposedly superior players will see you continue to move forward, oh wait Ipswich (and Bradford to a lesser extent) did that didn't they?

[Gus the teenage cow]

And how would you know that?

I don't know that, i am just speculating

how do you explain this second-season syndrome, I have no empirical evidence but unfortunately it happens, i am trying to speculate as to why, i hope it doesn't happen to us but we have to be prepared for this common phenomenon to lay its cravel ugly hands upon our squealing suffocating lungs as we desperately try to breathe in some last gulps of premiership air

[Mr Loyal Royal]

Win the title? 500/1

Very short odds

[philM]

And how would you know that?

I don't know that, i am just speculating

how do you explain this second-season syndrome, I have no empirical evidence but unfortunately it happens, i am trying to speculate as to why, i hope it doesn't happen to us but we have to be prepared for this common phenomenon to lay its cravel ugly hands upon our squealing suffocating lungs as we desperately try to breathe in some last gulps of premiership air

Gosh! I for one am frankly terrified.

How would you suggest I prepare?

[Fezza]

And how would you know that?

I don't know that, i am just speculating

how do you explain this second-season syndrome, I have no empirical evidence but unfortunately it happens, i am trying to speculate as to why, i hope it doesn't happen to us but we have to be prepared for this common phenomenon to lay its cravel ugly hands upon our squealing suffocating lungs as we desperately try to breathe in some last gulps of premiership air

Gosh! I for one am frankly terrified.

How would you suggest I prepare?

Buy 30 odd pairs of "lucky pants"?

There is no need to PANIC, I looked it up in the dictionary and it came up with this:

PANIC - To buy at least 8 new players from european clubs who have never played in England before and get in a failed former national manager and an exiled Prime Minister who fled with 50% of his countries wealth!

[Stranded]

And how would you know that?

I don't know that, i am just speculating

how do you explain this second-season syndrome, I have no empirical evidence but unfortunately it happens, i am trying to speculate as to why, i hope it doesn't happen to us but we have to be prepared for this common phenomenon to lay its cravel ugly hands upon our squealing suffocating lungs as we desperately try to breathe in some last gulps of premiership air

Pretty sure papereyes has some stuff on this. If Second-season syndrome does hit us then we are likely to finish about 12th.

[Jase_Royals]

Lawro's verdict: I believe in the second-season syndrome and I think that Reading might just experience it this year.

They have lost a quality player in Steve Sidwell, who I think will prove difficult to replace.

They looked a bit ropey defensively towards the end of last season and everyone knows what they are about now.

KEY MAN: STEVE COPPELL
Might have to convince his chairman to spend more than he has budgeted.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 229296.stm

[brendywendy]

what are the symptomns of second-season syndrome?


-players stalling on new contracts
- a star performer in a key position leaving
- new arrivals from struggling clubs in foreign unheralded leagues finding it difficult to mix
- a lack of transfer activity

actually
it looks like the new boys are mixing well, and looking very good in preseason
the star performer? we have none, and SS certainly did nothing to take the title for himself last year
im not really sure that france and portugal are unheralded are they?
its not like we bought them from latvia or something
two outs two ins, thats some transfer activity
and we broke our fee record for the 4th time in two and a bit years
so please
calm down dear

[mzungu_royal]

what are the symptomns of second-season syndrome?


-players stalling on new contracts
- a star performer in a key position leaving
- new arrivals from struggling clubs in foreign unheralded leagues finding it difficult to mix
- a lack of transfer activity

actually
it looks like the new boys are mixing well, and looking very good in preseason
the star performer? we have none, and SS certainly did nothing to take the title for himself last year
im not really sure that france and portugal are unheralded are they?
its not like we bought them from latvia or something
two outs two ins, thats some transfer activity
and we broke our fee record for the 4th time in two and a bit years
so please
calm down dear

lol @ Lawro who is a believer 2nd Season Syndrome. Get real Lolawro. Your just a tired looking ex-Scouser who couldn't play and now takes it out on Reading for no good reaspn. What a(n)...... idiot, wnaker.

I'm outta here

[papereyes]

And how would you know that?

I don't know that, i am just speculating

how do you explain this second-season syndrome, I have no empirical evidence but unfortunately it happens, i am trying to speculate as to why, i hope it doesn't happen to us but we have to be prepared for this common phenomenon to lay its cravel ugly hands upon our squealing suffocating lungs as we desperately try to breathe in some last gulps of premiership air

All of what you said.

- loss through injury, transfer or form of a goalscorer - see Ashton and Harewood for West Ham, Bullard? for Wigan, Stewart for Ipaswich back in the day

- forgetting that its defence that keeps you up and failing to strengthen properly there.

[papereyes]

Premiership preview No16: Reading

With a canny manager and more strength in depth than commonly imagined, the Royals should have no problem consolidating their top-flight status.


Guardian Unlimited writers' prediction: 14th. Odds: 1,800-1

Second-season syndrome: it's the first cliché pundits proffer when assessing Reading, as if it's something that could sneak up on Steve Coppell and take him by surprise. Whereas in reality the manager, being neither ignorant nor stupid, has been planning for it ever since it became clear his side wouldn't be relegated last season.

In keeping with Coppell's composed character and the team's tidy style, all the preparations for the new campaign have been about stability. Rather than emulate West Ham and rush into the transfer market to procure ritzy stars who'd lend lustre to Reading's name, the club kept calm and its first move was to secure the services of its existing players. Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson and André Bikey all agreed new contracts; Nicky Shorey and Leroy Lita may have declined similar deals but still have two years remaining on their current ones. Only Steve Sidwell has left, meaning Reading have avoided the talent haemorrhage that afflicted Wigan before last term.

Another reputed cause of second-season syndrome is opponents' increased familiarity with a side, and even a sense of complacency from that side itself. These symptoms usually become apparent in the second half of the club's first season when, having effectively ensured their survival, they loosen up and in doing so let down their guard: in 2005-06, both West Ham and Wigan fell from positive goal differences in their first 19 matches (Wigan +11, West Ham +3) to negative ones in the second 19 (Wigan -18, West Ham -3); they scored marginally more, but conceded much more. Reading, by contrast, increased their goal difference in the second half of last season (+5 to +12) by scoring more and conceding fewer. In short, though their opponents may have been more familiar with them, they too became better able to cope with what the Premiership threw at them.

That last fact also shows that getting off to a flying start isn't as crucial as often claimed. Which is probably just as well, because Reading begin this season with a trip to Old Trafford before hosting Chelsea. So even if those two matches yield defeats, beating Everton in the next game would enable them to equal the start they had last season, when they also lost two of their first three. If we bear in mind that between September and November they also had a six-week spell when they faced all of the big four in the Premiership, taking just one point off them, then recovered to win their next four matches, then we appreciate that Reading have real resilience.

Having said all that, Reading are unlikely to repeat last season's eighth place. Like the teams that finished above them, most of those that came below them have spent royally in the summer and though lavish expenditure certainly doesn't guarantee success, it's likely that one of West Ham, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Fulham, Manchester City and Sunderland will manage to make their superior resources pay.

Reading's major investment has been in record signing Emerse Faé, whose strength and drive are similar to Sidwell's - though despite his ferocious shooting, he's yet to develop similar finesse in front of goal. Brynjar Gunnarsson deputised diligently for Sidwell towards the end of last season without suggesting he has the all-round game to be more than a stopgap; Faé seems more like the real deal. Though on the evidence of an impressive Peace Cup showing, Kalifa Cissé could ultimately do what the brilliantly busy Hunt did to Seol Ki-Hyeon last season: supplant the record signing.

Up front, there's no obvious reason to expect Doyle and Lita (apart from freak injuries) to stop scoring. Some have said they'll be remembered in the same way as Marcus Stewart, but he was a journeyman who enjoyed one great season, whereas Reading's duo are youngsters on the up. The only real question concerning their strikeforce is whether Kitson can provide depth by rediscovering his pre-injury form.

At the back, Shorey should continue to excel, especially if he nurtures ambitions of moving to a bigger club, and the centre is secure: it could have been otherwise after Ibrahima Sonko got injured last January, but Bikey filled the gap well. And when he goes to the African Nations Cup, yet another cut-price signing from Cork could come to the fore: Alan Bennett is an uncompromising yet cultured centreback, who in the summer became a full Irish international and will spend the first half of this season advancing his adaptation to the English game while on loan at Southampton. If he doesn't progress as planned, there's always Michael Duberry. Or, more reassuringly, a careful dip into the transfer market.

In: Kalifa Cissé (Boavista - £600,000m); Emerse Faé (Nantes - £2.5m); André Bikey (loan made permanent from Lokomotiv Moscow - £1m).

Out: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea - free); Greg Halford (Sunderland - £2.5m).

[brendywendy]

i believe th eevidence stacks up like this:

1 team relegated after doing really well

2-3 doing much worse, but eventually safe

the vast majority do much the same, just drop a couple of places

4 teams actually improved after a good 1st season

the syndrome is bollox

[SpaceCruiser]

A very good article by the Guardian, though I don't think Hunt supplanted Seol as they play on different sides of the pitch.

[FinchOwl]

Premiership preview No16: Reading

With a canny manager and more strength in depth than commonly imagined, the Royals should have no problem consolidating their top-flight status.


Guardian Unlimited writers' prediction: 14th. Odds: 1,800-1

Second-season syndrome: it's the first cliché pundits proffer when assessing Reading, as if it's something that could sneak up on Steve Coppell and take him by surprise. Whereas in reality the manager, being neither ignorant nor stupid, has been planning for it ever since it became clear his side wouldn't be relegated last season.

In keeping with Coppell's composed character and the team's tidy style, all the preparations for the new campaign have been about stability. Rather than emulate West Ham and rush into the transfer market to procure ritzy stars who'd lend lustre to Reading's name, the club kept calm and its first move was to secure the services of its existing players. Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson and André Bikey all agreed new contracts; Nicky Shorey and Leroy Lita may have declined similar deals but still have two years remaining on their current ones. Only Steve Sidwell has left, meaning Reading have avoided the talent haemorrhage that afflicted Wigan before last term.

Another reputed cause of second-season syndrome is opponents' increased familiarity with a side, and even a sense of complacency from that side itself. These symptoms usually become apparent in the second half of the club's first season when, having effectively ensured their survival, they loosen up and in doing so let down their guard: in 2005-06, both West Ham and Wigan fell from positive goal differences in their first 19 matches (Wigan +11, West Ham +3) to negative ones in the second 19 (Wigan -18, West Ham -3); they scored marginally more, but conceded much more. Reading, by contrast, increased their goal difference in the second half of last season (+5 to +12) by scoring more and conceding fewer. In short, though their opponents may have been more familiar with them, they too became better able to cope with what the Premiership threw at them.

That last fact also shows that getting off to a flying start isn't as crucial as often claimed. Which is probably just as well, because Reading begin this season with a trip to Old Trafford before hosting Chelsea. So even if those two matches yield defeats, beating Everton in the next game would enable them to equal the start they had last season, when they also lost two of their first three. If we bear in mind that between September and November they also had a six-week spell when they faced all of the big four in the Premiership, taking just one point off them, then recovered to win their next four matches, then we appreciate that Reading have real resilience.

Having said all that, Reading are unlikely to repeat last season's eighth place. Like the teams that finished above them, most of those that came below them have spent royally in the summer and though lavish expenditure certainly doesn't guarantee success, it's likely that one of West Ham, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Fulham, Manchester City and Sunderland will manage to make their superior resources pay.

Reading's major investment has been in record signing Emerse Faé, whose strength and drive are similar to Sidwell's - though despite his ferocious shooting, he's yet to develop similar finesse in front of goal. Brynjar Gunnarsson deputised diligently for Sidwell towards the end of last season without suggesting he has the all-round game to be more than a stopgap; Faé seems more like the real deal. Though on the evidence of an impressive Peace Cup showing, Kalifa Cissé could ultimately do what the brilliantly busy Hunt did to Seol Ki-Hyeon last season: supplant the record signing.

Up front, there's no obvious reason to expect Doyle and Lita (apart from freak injuries) to stop scoring. Some have said they'll be remembered in the same way as Marcus Stewart, but he was a journeyman who enjoyed one great season, whereas Reading's duo are youngsters on the up. The only real question concerning their strikeforce is whether Kitson can provide depth by rediscovering his pre-injury form.

At the back, Shorey should continue to excel, especially if he nurtures ambitions of moving to a bigger club, and the centre is secure: it could have been otherwise after Ibrahima Sonko got injured last January, but Bikey filled the gap well. And when he goes to the African Nations Cup, yet another cut-price signing from Cork could come to the fore: Alan Bennett is an uncompromising yet cultured centreback, who in the summer became a full Irish international and will spend the first half of this season advancing his adaptation to the English game while on loan at Southampton. If he doesn't progress as planned, there's always Michael Duberry. Or, more reassuringly, a careful dip into the transfer market.

In: Kalifa Cissé (Boavista - £600,000m); Emerse Faé (Nantes - £2.5m); André Bikey (loan made permanent from Lokomotiv Moscow - £1m).

Out: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea - free); Greg Halford (Sunderland - £2.5m).

Wow, an article and preview that is sensible, balanced and actually knows the strengths and weaknesses of our side

The only thing they missed was the return of Convey to fitness which i believe will be like a new signing

Did you write it yourself papereyes??