What the pundits think about Reading this season

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T.R.O.L.I.
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by T.R.O.L.I. » 12 Aug 2007 11:33

papereyes From a Portsmouth fan on football.guardian

I can't help but think Reading are brilliant. A proper English football club playing football the way it should be played, not afraid of the "big boys". A carefully-assembled squad of players that, because of a lack of big names, people are all too ready to write off, plus a quiet genious of a manager. A completely refreshing change from a world of hype and tedious ego-fuelled managerial conflicts. Reading are about the football, and the football alone. Personally, I hope they reach Europe this season, although preferably one or two places below Pompey, and that people will soon stop being so condescending as to think of Reading as a little club. The way I see it, they're one of the most important teams to the English game.


What a refreshingly well written point of view.

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Royal Rother
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by Royal Rother » 12 Aug 2007 11:55

papereyes
But too many changes and vast outlay on new players seldom works either. Young players improve with experience, and we are giving ours their opportunity to do just that, rather than bringing in new players with bigger egos and higher wages as all that does is unsettle the unit.


So you pick a path between the two, choosing where you strengthen the team and how you strengthen it. We've reacted to things (ie Sidwell) and bought, rather than looking to improve areas of the squad.

Anyway, the post was in response to someone saying that 'we've barely changed anything'. My fear is that other teams will improve around us in a tight league. We're not doomed, but things could get sticky.

Anyway I don't believe we have stood still at all. Cisse and Fae appear to me to be a step forward. Bikey, Lita, Doyle and Long are certain to improve on last year's performances and Shorey, Harper, Sonko, Seol and Kitson are highly likely to. (I'm not sure Hunt can do much better than he did last year, but a repeat performance would be okay for me!)


I said this once. Still think its valid. Its not guaranteed. Players, sometimes for really odd reasons, sometimes fail to follow up one season with another good one.

In Pearce, Cox, Federici et al we have a selection of decent young players who have already shown they have distinct promise and they will be desperate for opportunities to advance their claims for 1st team places.


Hopefully. But certainly not guaranteed. Only A-Fed has more than a couple of games under his belt. Again, I am sure they're talented players - I've only seen glimpses of Cox and Pearce - but I hope we don't have to reply on them.

Murty, Ingi, Hahnemann, Little, Oster, Duberry and De La Cruz are no youngsters and unlikely to improve but if they remain generally fit are not going to let us down.


Yup, agree. Might add some from the top group into here.

As a group of players they share common attributes that put us ahead of most of our competition; attitude, integrity and intelligence. The fact that none of those will have been destabilised with the introduction of a load of Billy Big Bollox players leads me to look forward to this season with a lot of confidence.


I agree, but the main thing this ignores is that we haven't strengthened that much while teams around us have. And that's why barely moving from one season to the next is seen as risky. Some players have to repeat performances, not just in one game, but in 30+. Its happened before and it'll happen again, when someone hits their Perfect Season and cannot quite replicate it.

Although I have this as a minute chance of happening to enough of our players to make a BIG effect, it is, imo, very likely to happen to some of them. And that's enough reason for me to be a bit reserved in my optismism .


Players, sometimes for really odd reasons, sometimes fail to follow up one season with another good one.

I am suggesting that the reason for that, often, might be because their attitude might have been destabilised by new faces, their performances affected by an unfamiliarity with new team-mates' style. A settled team is a much under-rated facet I think and as long as the main principle of playing 2 teams, league and cups, is maintained I think the stability that brings will continue to bear fruits this season.

As long as Coppell does not let the team as a whole grow too old so that it suddenly needs a whole new influx of players then I think his approach (or the one I think he's deliberately taking on the whole) is a refreshing change to the norm and more likley to succed than if we'd spent £20m on 4 or 5 new faces of the Koumas, Chopra, Hulse, Healey variety who would probably have been as good as we could have got.

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by papereyes » 12 Aug 2007 12:10

There's also other factors that are unrelated to new faces coming in, but, yeah, its a big factor.

I just have my doubts and think that the *right* investment would have been a massive benefit to the squad. Whether Cisse and Fae is the *right* investment will get answered over the next year.

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Royal With Cheese
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by Royal With Cheese » 12 Aug 2007 12:12

Watching a group of overpaid ego-strokers on Sky this morning. Even Holt didn't tip us for the drop. Surprising names came out of West Ham and Newcastel! :shock:

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by exileinleeds » 12 Aug 2007 17:58

Bloody upstarts, how dare they go to OT and get a point? Anyone would think they deserved to be in this league.


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by fozziebear » 12 Aug 2007 18:08

Nice comment from Jamie Redknapp on Sky saying that no other premiership team could have done what Reading Fc did today with the man to man marking and take a point off man utd.

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by John Peel » 13 Aug 2007 14:54

Apparently Kitson had a row with Ruud Gullit in the tunnel after he'd been sent off too. Did Gullit say anything about Kits in the analysis with Redknapp?

Gullit should mind his own f*cking business.

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brendywendy
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by brendywendy » 13 Aug 2007 15:47

yes

gullit was slagging him post match saying it was awfu, that he could only have intenended to hurt said player
and that it holland it would be a double red
talking shite

young redknapp was very complimentary, and made gullits comments sound as dadft as they are

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