Which one of these men is the Premierships's real hero?

[Y21_Royal]

I despise the word 'hero' when it is used to describe any footballer. Someone who kicks a ball around a pitch and is payed extortionately for it is not a 'hero' in my eyes!

To be fair the word 'hero' is one of the most over used, especially in regard to people who die in tragic accidents/terrorist attacks etc. but thats a subject for AE.

Some footballers do a lot of good work away from the pitch, just look at DLC who I am sure is a hero, in the true sense of the word, to some of the people in Ecuador. I agree with you though that to describe a bloke that does his job efficiently, works hard and gets enormous financial reward as a hero is ridiculous.

[brendywendy]

1.Ivar
2.shorey
3.Marcus
4.Doyle
5.Hunt
6.sidwell(would be little or convey if not injured)

Ivar and Shorey I can understand, the others? You must be joking.

Nothing wrong with Doyle's presence there but Hunt and Marcus are a bit silly

Hunt mainly for his improvement, and for getting more goals than i expected, and as many as sidwell?

marcus has been outstanding for us, and kept us in many games
like the recent fulham and bolton games for instance, plus the OPTA stats dont lie you know!

Sidwell-just for the drive he gives the team, even though his passing/shooting/tackling arent the greatest this season!

who would you put in ahead of them then?

could have put sonko and lita in, but theyve had prolonged periods out of the team for one reason or the other
same with murts
little and convey as mentioned

seol, oster, DLC,Doobs, bikey, Brynn, all had good cameos only,

the only other one who may get in is harper for his drive, fitness, running around waving his arms alot, and maybe he should be at 6 instead of sidwell if he leaves

[Y21_Royal]

1.Ivar
2.shorey
3.Marcus
4.Doyle
5.Hunt
6.sidwell(would be little or convey if not injured)

Ivar and Shorey I can understand, the others? You must be joking.

Nothing wrong with Doyle's presence there but Hunt and Marcus are a bit silly

Hunt mainly for his improvement, and for getting more goals than i expected, and as many as sidwell?

marcus has been outstanding for us, and kept us in many games
like the recent fulham and bolton games for instance, plus the OPTA stats dont lie you know!

Sidwell-just for the drive he gives the team, even though his passing/shooting/tackling arent the greatest this season!

who would you put in ahead of them then?

could have put sonko and lita in, but theyve had prolonged periods out of the team for one reason or the other
same with murts
little and convey as mentioned

seol, oster, DLC,Doobs, bikey, Brynn, all had good cameos only,

the only other one who may get in is harper for his drive, fitness, running around waving his arms alot, and maybe he should be at 6 instead of sidwell if he leaves

If you're talking about performances then

1. Ivar
2. Shorey
3. Doyle
4. Sidwell

For effort/improvement/commitment etc

1. Ivar
2. Hunt
3. Shorey
4. Doyle
5. Sidwell

[brendywendy]

i forgot we all hate marcus at the mo

so he can be wayward with his distribution, but ive seen almost every single prem keeper throw/kick it out a couple of times this year

his shot stopping and command of th earea has been superb taken over the season

he has made a couple of rickets
-everton-gay leap with johnson missed the ball
and the liverpool game? star jumped over the ball at his near post

but then who hasntin this team of superhumans
-even mr dependables shorey and Ivar have made as many mistakes as that

[Y21_Royal]

i forgot we all hate marcus at the mo

so he can be wayward with his distribution, but ive seen almost every single prem keeper throw/kick it out a couple of times this year

his shot stopping and command of th earea has been superb taken over the season

he has made a couple of rickets
-everton-gay leap with johnson missed the ball
and the liverpool game? star jumped over the ball at his near post

but then who hasntin this team of superhumans
-even mr dependables shorey and Ivar have made as many mistakes as that

I don't hate Marcus, far from it. I think he's had a great season and its a measure of just how good we've been this season that he doesn't make my lists. Same goes for Murts, Harper and Sonko

[Top Flight]

I think Sidwell is currently being heavily underestimated by RFC fans because he is gonna be leaving us soon.........

Sidwell has been a key performer for us this season. His contribution has been immense.

Sky Sports are quite right to name Sid as the Most Key player in the Prem this season. Its true, he probably is the most valuable.

[Top Flight]

Regarding Marcus, he has been absolutely outstanding recently.

He did look a bit dodgy in the early season but he has been a brilliant keeper for many weeks now.

[VOR]

I would have Hunt in my top few based on pretty much any criteria. Many people under-estimate him because of his 100% commitment, cheeky chappy persona and occasional moments of madness. But when you consider he came from Brentford and was largely a sub last season, his progress and performances this year have been extraordinary and not just because he is always prepared to get stuck in. Markus's kicking is poor but his throwing is good; he is one of the best shot-stoppers in the business and he is now much more commanding on crosses. He's now one of the best in the Prem IMHO

For me, perhaps the most amazing thing about this season is how difficult is to think of players who have been seriously "found out" at this level.

[brendywendy]

I think Sidwell is currently being heavily underestimated by RFC fans because he is gonna be leaving us soon.........

Sidwell has been a key performer for us this season. His contribution has been immense.

Sky Sports are quite right to name Sid as the Most Key player in the Prem this season. Its true, he probably is the most valuable.

more off target shots than anyone in th edivision

more mistimed tackles than anyone else in the division

not sure about his passing stats, but they wont be much better

i think many people here are overestimating sidwells worth due to newspaper hype generated becuase his contract is up.
he has been good, him and harper in the midfield have driven the team on, and protected the defence,
but when you actuallyt look at his contribution over every game?? im not wholly convinced


and im not sure if you meant he is th emost valuable player in th eprem or just at reading
both statements are wrong

[Vision]

Regarding Marcus, he has been absolutely outstanding recently.

He did look a bit dodgy in the early season but he has been a brilliant keeper for many weeks now.

It may be a coincidence but in my opinion Marcus has looked a lot more assured since Sonko's injury.

[Stranded]

I think Sidwell is currently being heavily underestimated by RFC fans because he is gonna be leaving us soon.........

Sidwell has been a key performer for us this season. His contribution has been immense.

Sky Sports are quite right to name Sid as the Most Key player in the Prem this season. Its true, he probably is the most valuable.

The truth is actually somewhere in the middle. He's as important as any other member of the side and has performed very well at times but had the odd dodgy game. He does a lot more than people give him credit for but has flaws in his game that stand out - like his shooting his year.

He has given away a lot of free kicks as well this year but that is quite possibly due to the fact that he tackles a hell of a lot more than most.

So he has not as poor as some seem to want to believe but he's not as good as the press would like people to think.

[Top Flight]

I think Sidwell is currently being heavily underestimated by RFC fans because he is gonna be leaving us soon.........

Sidwell has been a key performer for us this season. His contribution has been immense.

Sky Sports are quite right to name Sid as the Most Key player in the Prem this season. Its true, he probably is the most valuable.

more off target shots than anyone in th edivision

more mistimed tackles than anyone else in the division

not sure about his passing stats, but they wont be much better

i think many people here are overestimating sidwells worth due to newspaper hype generated becuase his contract is up.
he has been good, him and harper in the midfield have driven the team on, and protected the defence,
but when you actuallyt look at his contribution over every game?? im not wholly convinced


and im not sure if you meant he is th emost valuable player in th eprem or just at reading
both statements are wrong

Well I'm glad you're not the manager brendy wendy........... Who would you replace him with? Marc Bircham?

[Top Flight]

Regarding Marcus, he has been absolutely outstanding recently.

He did look a bit dodgy in the early season but he has been a brilliant keeper for many weeks now.

It may be a coincidence but in my opinion Marcus has looked a lot more assured since Sonko's injury.

Who knows...... The team continue to surprise.

Win without Sonko
Win without Convey
Win without Doyle
Win without Little
Win without Kitson
Win without Murty

Win without Sidwell?

[Y21_Royal]

Regarding Marcus, he has been absolutely outstanding recently.

He did look a bit dodgy in the early season but he has been a brilliant keeper for many weeks now.

It may be a coincidence but in my opinion Marcus has looked a lot more assured since Sonko's injury.

Who knows...... The team continue to surprise.

Win without Sonko
Win without Convey
Win without Doyle
Win without Little
Win without Kitson
Win without Murty

Win without Sidwell?

We did, against Fulham

[Top Flight]

I think Sidwell is currently being heavily underestimated by RFC fans because he is gonna be leaving us soon.........

Sidwell has been a key performer for us this season. His contribution has been immense.

Sky Sports are quite right to name Sid as the Most Key player in the Prem this season. Its true, he probably is the most valuable.

The truth is actually somewhere in the middle. He's as important as any other member of the side and has performed very well at times but had the odd dodgy game. He does a lot more than people give him credit for but has flaws in his game that stand out - like his shooting his year.

He has given away a lot of free kicks as well this year but that is quite possibly due to the fact that he tackles a hell of a lot more than most.

So he has not as poor as some seem to want to believe but he's not as good as the press would like people to think.

Yeah you're probably right..........

I think most people are trying to manage their post traumatic stress disorder for when Sidwell leaves us.

If they belittle his contribution now, then when he leaves the hit to the mental health of some of these fans won't be so bad. Its a coping mechanism to say Sidwell is just an average player.

Its about coping with the eventual sadness and devastation when he finally leaves us.

Why can't people just accept that he has been a great player for us and that he will definitely be sorely missed when he goes.

I still have every confidence that Coppell will replace him and we will continue to go from strength to strength. No need for people to panic and start deploying their coping mechanisms. Just appreciate Sidwell for the final 3 games that we got with him!

[Royal With Cheese]

I think Sidwell has performed admirably this season until he's come up against the top 6 teams and then has looked distinctly ordinary.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

Don't have a problem with the word "hero" when used in a sporting context; used to, but then I stopped to consider all of the "heroes" of mythoLOLogical being and figured that it doesn't take a firefighter or hostage rescuer.

But I digress. Any chance of this thing getting beamed up on the Sky website and an applicable linkaroo being posted? Perhaps someone with the mag would be willing to do us the kindness of posting a brief, untroubled summary as to why the top five got named as they did (McBride?!?).

Just wonderin'; carry on.

[brendywendy]

I think Sidwell is currently being heavily underestimated by RFC fans because he is gonna be leaving us soon.........

Sidwell has been a key performer for us this season. His contribution has been immense.

Sky Sports are quite right to name Sid as the Most Key player in the Prem this season. Its true, he probably is the most valuable.

more off target shots than anyone in th edivision

more mistimed tackles than anyone else in the division

not sure about his passing stats, but they wont be much better

i think many people here are overestimating sidwells worth due to newspaper hype generated becuase his contract is up.
he has been good, him and harper in the midfield have driven the team on, and protected the defence,
but when you actuallyt look at his contribution over every game?? im not wholly convinced


and im not sure if you meant he is th emost valuable player in th eprem or just at reading
both statements are wrong

Well I'm glad you're not the manager brendy wendy........... Who would you replace him with? Marc Bircham?

woah there nelly

did i say id drop him?

its just that im not sure he is really that good

he is good, he has done alot for reading, i wish he'd stay,dont blame him if he goes

its just that when you start to actually quantify what it is that he does that makes him so much better than harper and gunnarson(bearing in mind the fact that he cant shoot, cant pass, can tackle a bit,) im left groping around a little

[Top Flight]

Sidwell Number 1

"It took Sidwell a few years to get back to the big time after leaving Arsenal (in 2003) but having got back there he looks like a natural," says Charlie Nicholas. The midfielder played a key role in Reading's memorable first season in the top flight and Andy Gray reckons: "He's given a level of performance that has suprised everyone, myself included."

[Top Flight]

Number 2: Brian McBride

Age: 34
Nationality: American
Position: Striker

Jeff Stelling says: "Where would Fulham be this season without his goals?" Martin Tyler adds, "I've waxed lyrical about him being a perfect professional."