Reading FC team of the decade

[NewCorkSeth]

Sean perhaps ?

Forgot about him, if it is Sean, the question then has to be asked, how did he get into TOTD and Mariappa got into WTOTD?

Moore or Pearce certainly get in ahead of Sean Morrison.

In regards to all of the above in order (replying to everyone)
1) I never liked Marriapa and he was always a bit of a liability in my eyes (maybe just I expected more when we signed him)
2) it was a hard one between Pog and Vydra they both came with big hype as big game players for me I went for the biggest let down in one of the worst periods for our club in Pog.
3) Carrico played a couple of times in CM and was dog s***e there worst player I could remember playing cm much worse defender so if CM only I would switch Meyler for him
4) I thought Harding was still here in 2010 so put my hands up for that one.
5) HRK was overrated and the worst of the LM we have had over the years worst of a pretty even bunch.
6) Simon Church never rated and never proved me wrong afterwards.
7) it was Sean Morrison who was a very good up and coming CB who we should have kept and not let go. he is the CB that Reading have probably needed ever since he left and if we could sign him back I would be ecstatic. also FYI Pearce was very good but a mercenary and I don't think Moore is quite there yet. this year I would actually rate Morrison (Michael) as the best CB over all the performances.

Surprised by a fair bit of that. Marriapa was solid, Carrico was, quite literally, a class above us and Pogrebnyak did a decent job. If it wasnt for his (largely exaggerated) wage packet nobody would consider him a bad player for us.

[Snowflake Royal]

Forgot about him, if it is Sean, the question then has to be asked, how did he get into TOTD and Mariappa got into WTOTD?

Moore or Pearce certainly get in ahead of Sean Morrison.

In regards to all of the above in order (replying to everyone)
1) I never liked Marriapa and he was always a bit of a liability in my eyes (maybe just I expected more when we signed him)
2) it was a hard one between Pog and Vydra they both came with big hype as big game players for me I went for the biggest let down in one of the worst periods for our club in Pog.
3) Carrico played a couple of times in CM and was dog s***e there worst player I could remember playing cm much worse defender so if CM only I would switch Meyler for him
4) I thought Harding was still here in 2010 so put my hands up for that one.
5) HRK was overrated and the worst of the LM we have had over the years worst of a pretty even bunch.
6) Simon Church never rated and never proved me wrong afterwards.
7) it was Sean Morrison who was a very good up and coming CB who we should have kept and not let go. he is the CB that Reading have probably needed ever since he left and if we could sign him back I would be ecstatic. also FYI Pearce was very good but a mercenary and I don't think Moore is quite there yet. this year I would actually rate Morrison (Michael) as the best CB over all the performances.

Surprised by a fair bit of that. Marriapa was solid, Carrico was, quite literally, a class above us and Pogrebnyak did a decent job. If it wasnt for his (largely exaggerated) wage packet nobody would consider him a bad player for us.

His lack of effort and leaden legs was a bit of an issue too.

But yeah, none were actively bad performers.

[Westwood52]

Best:
I thought Pearce and Gorks were dogshite

Al Habsi

S. Kelly
Pearce
Gorkss
Obita

Leigertwood
Norwood

Kebe
Sigurdsson
McAnuff

Long

Subs: Federici, Moore, Gunter, Karacan, Swift, McCleary, Le Fondre (although Kermorgant would start if Long was unavailable)

Worst:

Virginia, Cummings under Rodgers, Khumalo, Gorkss after promotion, Marcus Williams; Mullins, Akpan; Popa, Edwards, Aluko; Martin

Would have liked to see more of:

McCarthy; S. Kelly, Connolly, Oxford, Bridge; Baker, Carrico, Tshibola; Harriott, Murray, Beerens

Resisted the temptation to stuff academy players who made five appearances in there. Probably a better option than Oxford too. And Harriott and McCarthy don't really fit with the others.

[Hendo]

I thought Pearce and Gorks were dogshite

Best:

Al Habsi

S. Kelly
Pearce
Gorkss
Obita

Leigertwood
Norwood

Kebe
Sigurdsson
McAnuff

Long

Subs: Federici, Moore, Gunter, Karacan, Swift, McCleary, Le Fondre (although Kermorgant would start if Long was unavailable)

Worst:

Virginia, Cummings under Rodgers, Khumalo, Gorkss after promotion, Marcus Williams; Mullins, Akpan; Popa, Edwards, Aluko; Martin

Would have liked to see more of:

McCarthy; S. Kelly, Connolly, Oxford, Bridge; Baker, Carrico, Tshibola; Harriott, Murray, Beerens

Resisted the temptation to stuff academy players who made five appearances in there. Probably a better option than Oxford too. And Harriott and McCarthy don't really fit with the others.

Then you're oxf*rd wrong. We kept 20 clean sheets the year we went up with Pearce and Gorkss as CBs and Pearce won a POTM award that year.

[linkenholtroyal]

In regards to all of the above in order (replying to everyone)
1) I never liked Marriapa and he was always a bit of a liability in my eyes (maybe just I expected more when we signed him)
2) it was a hard one between Pog and Vydra they both came with big hype as big game players for me I went for the biggest let down in one of the worst periods for our club in Pog.
3) Carrico played a couple of times in CM and was dog s***e there worst player I could remember playing cm much worse defender so if CM only I would switch Meyler for him
4) I thought Harding was still here in 2010 so put my hands up for that one.
5) HRK was overrated and the worst of the LM we have had over the years worst of a pretty even bunch.
6) Simon Church never rated and never proved me wrong afterwards.
7) it was Sean Morrison who was a very good up and coming CB who we should have kept and not let go. he is the CB that Reading have probably needed ever since he left and if we could sign him back I would be ecstatic. also FYI Pearce was very good but a mercenary and I don't think Moore is quite there yet. this year I would actually rate Morrison (Michael) as the best CB over all the performances.

I thought Carrico played twice in midfield for us. Once against WBA where he was miles off the pace but understandably and once against Liverpool where he was superb. Think it’s a bit harsh

I see your point about HRK but I think he offered more than the likes of Drenthe, John and Piazon

Way more than that trio of wasters.

I liked John and Piazon was good for his age he just wasn't quite there yet. and Royston was atleast exciting if the end product was lacking. in Defence of HRK though I dont think he was ever a left winger that was just the only spot we could fit him in in that formation as a number 10 just behind the main striker he was much better. I just remember he could not cross to save his life with ball after ball either going straight to the opposition, out for a goal kick or over hit for a throw in. we all have our own opinion though.

[NewCorkSeth]

I thought Pearce and Gorks were dogshite

Best:

Al Habsi

S. Kelly
Pearce
Gorkss
Obita

Leigertwood
Norwood

Kebe
Sigurdsson
McAnuff

Long

Subs: Federici, Moore, Gunter, Karacan, Swift, McCleary, Le Fondre (although Kermorgant would start if Long was unavailable)

Worst:

Virginia, Cummings under Rodgers, Khumalo, Gorkss after promotion, Marcus Williams; Mullins, Akpan; Popa, Edwards, Aluko; Martin

Would have liked to see more of:

McCarthy; S. Kelly, Connolly, Oxford, Bridge; Baker, Carrico, Tshibola; Harriott, Murray, Beerens

Resisted the temptation to stuff academy players who made five appearances in there. Probably a better option than Oxford too. And Harriott and McCarthy don't really fit with the others.

Then you're oxf*rd wrong. We kept 20 clean sheets the year we went up with Pearce and Gorkss as CBs and Pearce won a POTM award that year.

Which match was it for?

[URZZZZ]

Can’t be serious, can he? Best duo we’ve had since Sonko and Ingimarsson by quite a considerable margin. Genuinely interested in to why he thinks that

[Hendo]

I thought Pearce and Gorks were dogshite

Then you're oxf*rd wrong. We kept 20 clean sheets the year we went up with Pearce and Gorkss as CBs and Pearce won a POTM award that year.

Which match was it for?

Player of the month but I am expecting a whoosh here

[NewCorkSeth]

Then you're oxf*rd wrong. We kept 20 clean sheets the year we went up with Pearce and Gorkss as CBs and Pearce won a POTM award that year.

Which match was it for?

Player of the month but I am expecting a whoosh here

Nope. My ignorance in thinking POTM was player of the match. Thought it was a typo so was trying to be a prick. You win this time Hendo. You win this time.

[NewCorkSeth]

Can’t be serious, can he? Best duo we’ve had since Sonko and Ingimarsson by quite a considerable margin. Genuinely interested in to why he thinks that

Probably because that was Pearce at his best and he was part of a few clumsy sides which, looking back on, shouldnt have been. Pearce and Morrison should have been a much better combo.

Where did it all go wrong.

[Hendo]

Which match was it for?

Player of the month but I am expecting a whoosh here

Nope. My ignorance in thinking POTM was player of the match. Thought it was a typo so was trying to be a prick. You win this time Hendo. You win this time.

[BraisingsteakRoyal]

Can't be @rsed to look back to see if anyone has included him, but the correct answer to the "Best Goalkeeper?" question is Emiliano Martinez. Absolutely hands down(/up)

Head and shoulders above the next few, which would prolly be AAH and then a penalty-area toss up between Fedders and Alex Mac.

[stealthpapes]

related - published this in football365 over the summer

…Just because you’re Division 2 doesn’t mean you can’t be disappointed. I’ll put the team name at the end, just so we can all play a guessing game as we go along.

GK: Borislav Mihailov – rumour has it he saw the play off final in ’95 and thought that was our home ground. Rumour also had it that he wore a hairpiece.

RB: Greg Halford – came in for big money (over £2 million!), didn’t fit, went to Sunderland where he pissed off Roy Keane. There is a story in the secret footballer that rather closely matches his time at my club.

CB: Daniel Carrico – won the UEFA cup while with us. Was on loan at Seville at the time. HIs … checks notes … 87 minutes for us … 87 minutes? Brilliant.

CB: Martin Keown – hindsight possibly puts this as “he was a bit past his best”, but defenders are meant to age gracefully, right? He came in as our promotion bid was faltering, we were 4th but struggling for wins. We finished 7th. He played 5 games of a possible 16. Cheers.

LB: Wayne Bridge – defenders are meant to age gracefully, right?

RM: Emerse Fae – close to a club record signing. Got malaria, refused to play in a reserve game. If I have it correct, we never won a single game with him in the side.

CM: Neale Cooper – probably the earliest one here. Remember my Dad saying he’d been a stalwart in Scotland, European success, played with Ferguson, was part of that Graeme Souness Rangers team for a time. All he brought south was the thuggery. Vanished after two months, turned out he went on to play 100 odd times for Dunfermline. Right.

CM: Ray Houghton – and only a few years on from being a regular that Ron Atkinson Villa side of the early nineties and scoring famous world cup goals. I mean, this is a player, this is a man with pedigree. Passed the ball sideways. Pointed a bit. Sad.

LM: Royston Drenthe – I am not even going to dignify how this one worked out with a complete

ST: Pavel Pogrebnyak – I mean, we’ve shelled out on quality here. Did OK in a struggling relegation season and stuck around the next season. Should have torn the Championship a new hole. Did not.

ST: Mass Sarr – as we moved to our new ground, we brought in what seemed like a new squad. Heading it up was Mass Sarr. Liberian International. Played for Monaco. Scored a lot in Croatia. Someone once made a statue of him but the feet were all wrong. Remember, those heady pre-internet days where rumours were proper rumours? Anyway, the local press all but made up a story about his having a personal witch doctor, he got caught drink driving and scored 3 goals in the old 3rd division.

Subs bench: Anton Ferdinand, Yakubu, Nicky Shorey in 2012 or Dave Kitson in 2009, Danny Guthrie, Tiago Ilori

So there, my Reading FC biggest disappointments. The biggest mismatches between hype/expectation and what we actually got. Some even played quite well at times, but you were always left thinking it could have been so much better.
stealthpapes, Brum

[Focher]

anybody who leaves out McAnuff needs to be crucified.

[sandman]

Can't be @rsed to look back to see if anyone has included him, but the correct answer to the "Best Goalkeeper?" question is Emiliano Martinez. Absolutely hands down(/up)

Head and shoulders above the next few, which would prolly be AAH and then a penalty-area toss up between Fedders and Alex Mac.

He was good but hands down the best, really? Not seen any Reading Keeper since Shaka have a season like that one Al Habsi had in the play off season.

[muirinho]

anybody who leaves out McAnuff needs to be crucified.

From which team?

After reading some of the opinions on here nothing would surprise me tbh.

[Focher]

anybody who leaves out McAnuff needs to be crucified.

From which team?

After reading some of the opinions on here nothing would surprise me tbh.

team of the decade. The only reason Harte could play as he did the season we went up was because McAnuff covered his slow ass all season.

[Snowflake Royal]

anybody who leaves out McAnuff needs to be crucified.

From which team?

After reading some of the opinions on here nothing would surprise me tbh.

Genuinely knew a guy and his son who would happily bang on about how McAnuff was the worst winger we'd ever had. And he'd been watching RFC for decades. Once challenged me at a game to point out any single positive contribution he made.

Absolutely mind boggling.

I'd have him as the best, most consistent LW we've had.
Convey really only had that one good season due to injury
HRK - lol
Gilkes - let's just say by the time I saw him (95) he was past his best and known for crossing into the Tilehurst End.
Barrow - lol
John - lol
Salako - past his best but pretty quality, not on the same level though


Still wish Jobi had stayed and seen out his career as captain at LB while Obita moved forward to LW.

[URZZZZ]

anybody who leaves out McAnuff needs to be crucified.

From which team?

After reading some of the opinions on here nothing would surprise me tbh.

Genuinely knew a guy and his son who would happily bang on about how McAnuff was the worst winger we'd ever had. And he'd been watching RFC for decades. Once challenged me at a game to point out any single positive contribution he made.

Absolutely mind boggling.

I'd have him as the best, most consistent LW we've had.
Convey really only had that one good season due to injury
HRK - lol
Gilkes - let's just say by the time I saw him (95) he was past his best and known for crossing into the Tilehurst End.
Barrow - lol
John - lol
Salako - past his best but pretty quality, not on the same level though


Still wish Jobi had stayed and seen out his career as captain at LB while Obita moved forward to LW.

I always rated S Hunt and Beerens was generally decent, but they still don't come close to Jobi

I generally think some people watch different games, McAnuff was a classy player, albeit slightly out of depth in the Prem

[Snowflake Royal]

From which team?

After reading some of the opinions on here nothing would surprise me tbh.

Genuinely knew a guy and his son who would happily bang on about how McAnuff was the worst winger we'd ever had. And he'd been watching RFC for decades. Once challenged me at a game to point out any single positive contribution he made.

Absolutely mind boggling.

I'd have him as the best, most consistent LW we've had.
Convey really only had that one good season due to injury
HRK - lol
Gilkes - let's just say by the time I saw him (95) he was past his best and known for crossing into the Tilehurst End.
Barrow - lol
John - lol
Salako - past his best but pretty quality, not on the same level though


Still wish Jobi had stayed and seen out his career as captain at LB while Obita moved forward to LW.

I always rated S Hunt and Beerens was generally decent, but they still don't come close to Jobi

I generally think some people watch different games, McAnuff was a classy player, albeit slightly out of depth in the Prem

The entire team were. I'd say he was one of our better in the PL that season.Top assister with 7, a perfectly respectable number. Aside from Alfietime who really did better? Kebe didn't play anywhere near enough - 5 goals but only 1 assist. McCleary - 3 goals, 2 assists?