What the pundits think about Reading this season

[mzungu_royal]

This is stuck on my office wall!

The odds in the NOTW are only 1000-1 this year!!

worth a chuck if everyone chips in at a £1. We get money back if we win, lose a quid if we lose.

[JimmytheJim]

the casual racism and xenophobia is part and parcel of this seemingly right wing dominated portal.democracy in action i guess.

f*ck democracy. people are exactly the kind of idiots who buy pop music and watch big brother. they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near politics. a malevolent dictatorship would be preferable to having to endure a society in which some people genuinely believe katie price to be a genius.

[Royal Rother]

Huh?

[g]

the casual racism and xenophobia is part and parcel of this seemingly right wing dominated portal.democracy in action i guess.

f*ck democracy. people are exactly the kind of idiots who buy pop music and watch big brother. they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near politics. a malevolent dictatorship would be preferable to having to endure a society in which some people genuinely believe katie price to be a genius.

agreed

[Archie's penalty]

Huh?

I also was a little confused by Jimmy the Jim's comments. I also would like to say that the comment about the guy's 'non-english' name was ridiculous - yeah he's a sh*t reporter talk about that - not the fact he's got a Greek name - tbh who gives a sh*t?

[strap]

the casual racism and xenophobia is part and parcel of this seemingly right wing dominated portal.democracy in action i guess.

Well, you know where the door is.

Since when did lefties learn to read instruction manuals?!?! Haven't you heard the latest drivel from these idiots destroying the education system? "We can't teach 'young adults' structured lessons. They must work on project based topics that explore wider social issues so they can learn for themselves (as long as it's the good socialist claptrap we feed them)".

You couldn't make it up! Where's the revolution when you really need it???

Anyway, back to the thread - the football365 write up is about spot on. Although one of the pundits on the Radio 5 live Community Shield commentary had us finishing second botom to Derby, with Wigan going down above us!!! I thin th eother two guys plumped for Derby, Wigan and Fulham, with worries also over Sunderland and ManC. Why no Birmingham?

[floyd__streete]

Although one of the pundits on the Radio 5 live Community Shield commentary had us finishing second botom to Derby, with Wigan going down above us!!!

To be fair, he also used the hackneyed and laughable cliche' "second season syndrome" which in terms of detracting credibility from your statement is second only to saying "hello, my name is Michael Winner".

Why no Birmingham?

The same bloke - I forget his name, it being of total irrelevance to me - reasoned that "lack of signings" would prove our downfall. So presumably because they have signed a shed-load of sh*t Birmingham will be fine .

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

the casual racism and xenophobia is part and parcel of this seemingly right wing dominated portal.democracy in action i guess.

Well, you know where the door is.

Since when did lefties learn to read instruction manuals?!?! Haven't you heard the latest drivel from these idiots destroying the education system? "We can't teach 'young adults' structured lessons. They must work on project based topics that explore wider social issues so they can learn for themselves (as long as it's the good socialist claptrap we feed them)".

You couldn't make it up!

well, you could make it up, or at least spin it very heavily, as education policy has been moving that way slowly for around 40 years. Education ideas have almost nothing to do with the party in power, nor are they inherently left or right wing. A huge amount of rot set in in the 1980s, under a long period of tory rule.

[bb0118]

Im glad to see my scanned in NOTW page from last year is still up!!!!!!!!

[papereyes]

THE CLUB

Nickname
The Royals.
Nickname should be
The Upstarts.

Bankrolled by
Like all the best football chairmen, John Madejski, former owner of Auto Trader, made his fortune (estimated at £400m) selling used cars. With the Madejski Stadium, the Madejski Hotel, the John Madejski Garden at the V&A, the John Madejski Fine Rooms (an art gallery), the John Madejski Academy (a school) and the John Madejski Centre for Reputation (not sure what this could be), he prefers to keep his benevolence low-profile.

How they'll do
Steve Sidwell has gone but the Royals weren't over-reliant on the midfielder and should be fine. Whatever happens, though, expect regular references to "second season syndrome".

Nightmare on Memory Lane
The move from a 22- to 20-team Premiership meant the Royals missed out on promotion in 1995 despite finishing second in the First Division. Three years later they were relegated.

Fine them £5.5m for...
Not being as excited as a toddler on Christmas morning about nearly qualifying for the Uefa Cup. Don't they know that's just about as good as it gets these days?

Big in...
People flock in their millions from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the royals in action, just not the ones that hail from Reading. Other than the now obligatory Norwegian branch, these Royals have struggled to cast their net much further than a supporters group in "The North"... wherever that might be.

On the road they'd be...
Lewis Hamilton's McLaren: Commentators have been dumbstruck by the ease with which this car coped among the elite in its debut season. They admire the refusal to be overawed by the big boys and stay on track. But some consider recent success to have been overhyped and believe the wheels might just come off.


THE PLAYERS

Answer to McClaren's prayers
Leroy Lita could be in England's plans after outshining David Nugent at the Under-21 Championship.

Underrated achiever
James Harper started all but two of the Royals' league games last season and now has the opportunity to step out of Sidwell's shadow. Socks rolled down à la Steve Claridge, Harper's energy and drive are crucial to Reading's style.

Will see red
With six yellow cards and a red in only 15 appearances (eight as substitute) last season, Andre Bikey has a youthful exuberance that regularly overflows on to the kneecaps of opposition players.

A warm welcome to
Kalifa Cissé has been brought in from Boavista and can play at the back or in midfield. He's yet another powerful presence in a physical squad.

Fans would nominate for eviction
If ever there was a club without a boo-boy, this is it, though few Royals fans would have been overly aggrieved if Seol Ki-hyun had been overcome with homesickness and demanded to stay in South Korea after their pre-season tour.

Heading for Hollywood
With the stars and stripes tattooed on his left arm, Marcus Hahnemann is clearly a patriot. How the goalkeeper would cope with the social merry-go-round, though, is unclear: he's not a big party animal, staying at home as his team-mates clubbed the night away after promotion last year.

We know what they did this summer
Graeme Murty played golf with Royals fans ... James Harper went to Las Vegas ... Nicky Shorey made his England debut, then got married the following day.


THE MANAGER: STEVE COPPELL

Learned at the knee of...
Played under Tommy Docherty but has been managing so long he's probably picked up some ideas of his own by now.

How he likes to play
The same way. Every. Single. Week. He's the anti-Tinkerman.

Media handling
Downplays everything to the point of appearing pessimistic but at least he tends to avoid platitudes and can be pretty witty on occasion, in a dry way. Just don't ask him to wax lyrical about the Uefa Cup.


LAST SEASON
Points per game v top 4 0.25 v the rest 1.77
FA Cup 5th round
Carling Cup 3rd round
League discipline Y39 R3
Top scorer Doyle 13
Fair play league 7th


THE FACTS
Ground Madejski Stadium, Reading RG2 0FL
Getting there From Reading station take the No79 shuttle bus direct to the stadium
Switchboard 0118 968 1100
Capacity 24,122
Away allocation 2,300
Ticket prices £28-£41
Ticket office 0870 999 1871
Disabled facilities 0870 999 1871
Club shop 0118 968 1234
Official website readingfc.co.uk
Title odds 500-1
Relegation odds 5-1

[papereyes]

That's the Guardian, by the way. Its trying to be witty.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

That's the Guardian, by the way. Its trying to be witty.

I laughed at some of it

[Royal With Cheese]

That's the Guardian, by the way. Its trying to be witty.

More trying to be different. A good appraisal of the forthcoming season.

[papereyes]

Last year it got some pretty surprisngly vitriolic comments ..

[FinchOwl]

Will see red
With six yellow cards and a red in only 15 appearances (eight as substitute) last season, Andre Bikey has a youthful exuberance that regularly overflows on to the kneecaps of opposition players.

[brendywendy]

the casual racism and xenophobia is part and parcel of this seemingly right wing dominated portal.democracy in action i guess.

Well, you know where the door is.

Since when did lefties learn to read instruction manuals?!?! Haven't you heard the latest drivel from these idiots destroying the education system? "We can't teach 'young adults' structured lessons. They must work on project based topics that explore wider social issues so they can learn for themselves (as long as it's the good socialist claptrap we feed them)".

You couldn't make it up! Where's the revolution when you really need it???
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
as an employer i would rather a prospective employeed to have been educated in a way that concentrated on methods of learning that focus on self education, learning how to learn, and project based work
these are far more valuable to me than someone who can recite their times table parrot fashion, or who is a perfect speller.
that is all.

[Archie's penalty]

THE CLUB

Nickname
The Royals.
Nickname should be
The Upstarts.

Bankrolled by
Like all the best football chairmen, John Madejski, former owner of Auto Trader, made his fortune (estimated at £400m) selling used cars. With the Madejski Stadium, the Madejski Hotel, the John Madejski Garden at the V&A, the John Madejski Fine Rooms (an art gallery), the John Madejski Academy (a school) and the John Madejski Centre for Reputation (not sure what this could be), he prefers to keep his benevolence low-profile.

How they'll do
Steve Sidwell has gone but the Royals weren't over-reliant on the midfielder and should be fine. Whatever happens, though, expect regular references to "second season syndrome".

Nightmare on Memory Lane
The move from a 22- to 20-team Premiership meant the Royals missed out on promotion in 1995 despite finishing second in the First Division. Three years later they were relegated.

Fine them £5.5m for...
Not being as excited as a toddler on Christmas morning about nearly qualifying for the Uefa Cup. Don't they know that's just about as good as it gets these days?

Big in...
People flock in their millions from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the royals in action, just not the ones that hail from Reading. Other than the now obligatory Norwegian branch, these Royals have struggled to cast their net much further than a supporters group in "The North"... wherever that might be.

On the road they'd be...
Lewis Hamilton's McLaren: Commentators have been dumbstruck by the ease with which this car coped among the elite in its debut season. They admire the refusal to be overawed by the big boys and stay on track. But some consider recent success to have been overhyped and believe the wheels might just come off.


THE PLAYERS

Answer to McClaren's prayers
Leroy Lita could be in England's plans after outshining David Nugent at the Under-21 Championship.

Underrated achiever
James Harper started all but two of the Royals' league games last season and now has the opportunity to step out of Sidwell's shadow. Socks rolled down à la Steve Claridge, Harper's energy and drive are crucial to Reading's style.

Will see red
With six yellow cards and a red in only 15 appearances (eight as substitute) last season, Andre Bikey has a youthful exuberance that regularly overflows on to the kneecaps of opposition players.

A warm welcome to
Kalifa Cissé has been brought in from Boavista and can play at the back or in midfield. He's yet another powerful presence in a physical squad.

Fans would nominate for eviction
If ever there was a club without a boo-boy, this is it, though few Royals fans would have been overly aggrieved if Seol Ki-hyun had been overcome with homesickness and demanded to stay in South Korea after their pre-season tour.

Heading for Hollywood
With the stars and stripes tattooed on his left arm, Marcus Hahnemann is clearly a patriot. How the goalkeeper would cope with the social merry-go-round, though, is unclear: he's not a big party animal, staying at home as his team-mates clubbed the night away after promotion last year.

We know what they did this summer
Graeme Murty played golf with Royals fans ... James Harper went to Las Vegas ... Nicky Shorey made his England debut, then got married the following day.


THE MANAGER: STEVE COPPELL

Learned at the knee of...
Played under Tommy Docherty but has been managing so long he's probably picked up some ideas of his own by now.

How he likes to play
The same way. Every. Single. Week. He's the anti-Tinkerman.

Media handling
Downplays everything to the point of appearing pessimistic but at least he tends to avoid platitudes and can be pretty witty on occasion, in a dry way. Just don't ask him to wax lyrical about the Uefa Cup.


LAST SEASON
Points per game v top 4 0.25 v the rest 1.77
FA Cup 5th round
Carling Cup 3rd round
League discipline Y39 R3
Top scorer Doyle 13
Fair play league 7th


THE FACTS
Ground Madejski Stadium, Reading RG2 0FL
Getting there From Reading station take the No79 shuttle bus direct to the stadium
Switchboard 0118 968 1100
Capacity 24,122
Away allocation 2,300
Ticket prices £28-£41
Ticket office 0870 999 1871
Disabled facilities 0870 999 1871
Club shop 0118 968 1234
Official website readingfc.co.uk
Title odds 500-1
Relegation odds 5-1

Not too bad to be compared to Lewis Hamilton - like it! Not a negative word to be said about us...

[brendywendy]

and i really like "the upstarts" as a nickname

[Skin]

The Times:

Reading

2006-7 record: League 8th FA Cup 5th round Carling Cup 3rd round

Manager: Steve Coppell

Chop rating: 2/5 Not one to display his joy at Reading’s eighth place last season, Steve Coppell’s traditional caution might serve him well in what promises to be a more difficult season this time out

Squad analysis Goalkeepers 1 Marcus Hahnemann, 21 Graham Stack, 32 Adam Federici Defenders 2 Graeme Murty, 3 Nicky Shorey, 5 Ibrahima Sonko, 14 John Halls, 16 Ivar Ingimarsson, 18 Sam Sodje, 22 Andre Bikey, 23 Ulises de la Cruz, 27 Aaron Brown, 29 Michael Duberry, 33 Scott Golbourne, 35 Alex Pearce, 47 Peter Mate Midfielders 4 Kalifa Cisse, 6 Brynjar Gunnarsson, 7 Glen Little, 10 Stephen Hunt, 11 John Oster, 15 James Harper, 17 Bobby Convey, 19 Seol Ki-Hyeon, 34 James Henry, Emerse Fae Forwards 8 Leroy Lita, 9 Kevin Doyle, 12 Dave Kitson, 24 Shane Long, 31 Simon Cox Players in Kalifa Cisse (Boavista, £675,000), Emerse Fae (Nantes, £2.5m) Players out Greg Halford (Sunderland, £3m), Jonathan Hayes (Leicester, undisclosed), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Alan Bennett (Southampton, loan), Curtis Osano (Rushden & Diamonds, loan) Coppell did brilliantly last time, but second-season syndrome (zzzzzzzz)is an obvious threat to the league’s lowest payers New faces Kalifa Cisse, a French defensive midfielder who helped Boavista finish 10th out of 16 in Portugal, and Ivory Coast midfielder Emerse Fae, signed from Nantes, have hardly set pulses racing in Berkshire. Not least as they are the sum total of Reading’s expenditure, unless three 16-year-old South Koreans count and, frankly, they don’t. Having lost Greg Halford and Steve Sidwell over the summer, Reading look significantly less competitive than they did this time last year Player to watch Kevin Doyle. Thirteen goals and elevation into the Republic of Ireland team marked an exceptional introduction to the Premier League. If Doyle’s form dips, he might take Reading into the trough with him. If not then they have a fighting chance of staying up

In an ideal world Same as you were. Bobby Convey and Dave Kitson are fully recovered from their injury gluts, while Leroy Lita, Nicky Shorey and Shane Long continue to develop and the doubters are proved wrong yet again

In the real world The unfathomable lack of transfer activity will test Coppell’s abilities and his team’s trademark unity to the test. But if they can avoid injuries, their defence is rugged and keen. Their midfield will sorely lack Sidwell’s craft and they have four strikers each capable of scoring more than 10 league goals a season

Official club website http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk

If they were a pop star they would be... Corinne Bailey Rae Last year was as good as it’s going to get

Joe Lovejoy’s prediction 15th Coppell did brilliantly last time, but second-season syndrome is an obvious threat to the league's lowest payers Title odds 500-1

[Huntley & Palmer]

The rather excellent Independent season preview is out today as well. Not available online though