Royals blog about Reading Football club and Kingsley the lion (who is Real)
This is what happens when you go away for a long weekend and don’t check anything about the football. Your team goes away and loses 3-0.
By all accounts we were woeful. I don’t suppose the injuries to the defence and all three right sided midfielders helped.
On the bright side, Lita came off the bench and Kitson’s suspension is now served. So more firepower next week.
You might also want to read :Reading got their first win of the season at a drizzle drenched Madjeski Stadium against the table-topping Everton. Stephen Hunt scored a well deserved goal and Andy Johnson was denied by a post late on to give the win to Reading.
We were planning on getting the bus but actually met up with some East Stand season ticket holders who gave my son and I a lift to the ground. So in fact we got their incredibly early to make up for Wednesday’s game against Chelsea. So early that we wandered around wondering what to do with ourselves. A couple of pints and a coke was the answer (again to make up for the Chelsea game). However, I paid the price ten minutes into the game because my son needed the toilet! Better than 2 minutes before half time I suppose in this case.
The game started with Reading playing particularly well. Gunnarsson was back in for the suspended Cisse. Seol had replaced Oster and Bikey was starting for the injured Duberry. Bikey certainly took his chance as he was incredible, making the job of marking Andy Johnson look easy. All the defence played well, but poor Graham Murty went down with another injury after 20 minutes and was replaced with De La Cruz.
Just has we were thinking that all the hard work in the first half was coming to nothing, up popped Stephen Hunt, taking hold of a De La Cruz long throw that the Everton defence failed to handle and deftly stuck the ball into the net past the Everton keeper Howard. Perfect time to score a goal at 43 minutes.
Everton played better second half, and Reading couldn’t quite keep up the pace. Doyle and Long were playing well up front, but looked increasingly tired and the Seol (who had a good game as well) got a back injury and was replaced by Oster. Then came the moment that two American blokes at the front of the South Stand had been waiting for. Hunt picked up a thigh strain after providing again a tireless effort of running and skill and had to be replaced. On came Bobby Convey to a standing ovation and the two American guys got their USA flag out. It is great to see both the American support and Bobby’s return.
However, it looked like Reading were going to run out of players as substitute Oster went down with an injury as well. We were going to finish the game with ten men again (no sending off for a change) but Oster came back on to hobble around up front and Kevin Doyle finished the game on the right midfield.
Near the death, Everton came closest to scoring with McFaddon (rightly booked for diving) putting in a cross that fooled Hahnemann and hit the bar. The ball fell to the previously quiet Johnson but he fluffed he shot and hit De La Cruz on the hand, then fell to him again. He shot again and hit the post. What a let off. Johnson always scores against Reading and should have again. Not this time. The Reading fans were ecstatic after getting the first win of the season.
4 points from the first three game and 4 more points than from the same fixtures as last season. In the car on the way hope everyone was full of optimism for the coming season.
You might also want to read :I have just moved the blog to a new location at http://www.readingfcblog.co.uk so if anyone has me bookmarked, please update to the new location, however all the old URL’s should still work and redirect to the new location and the RSS feed should change automatically, so in theory no one should notice the difference (that’s what I’m told anyway). If there are any problems, please comment or email me.
Review of the Everton game to come. Great result, I’ve got fresh Kingsley (and Hunt) photos and everything!
You might also want to read :What a good game; and failing to avoid the well known cliche it was certainly a game of two halves. Reading were excellent in the first half, and poor in the second. Chelsea were woeful in the first half and good enough in the second.
Where to start? Well, not the beginning, because I missed the kick-off. As the game kicked off I was running from the bus to the turnstile (and getting my foot soaked as I stepped in a huge puddle). There were reports of all sorts of trouble with the buses (the Henley bus broke down) and ours was 15 minutes late getting to us. We then got caught up in the usual traffic jams through town and around the ground as an almighty rain storm dented holes in the roof. Once I finally got to my seat, the game was already in full flow and I’d missed all the pre-match stuff including Kingsley and the PA team. (As I also missed my pre-game pint I queued up for one at halftime and missed all the half time stuff from the boys as well. Sorry guys, hopefully the bus will get us to the ground earlier on Saturday).
Chelsea had the first real chance when Drogba hit the post, but he was actually offside. After that the first half was all Reading. If only we’d put away the chances we were given. Hunt was excellent and despite my nervousness was man of the match, didn’t put a foot round and made the Chelsea defenders look fools with his neat flicks. Duberry was having a good game, Murty and Oster we combining well on the right and Doyle and Long were working the defence well (however they are a bit similar to play together). Harper and new boy Cisse were doing well in the middle against Lampard and Sidwell. Lampard was invisible, and Sidwell was running round looking like he had a point to prove, but ended up just fouling a lot (in the end he got booked). Unfortunately, his Reading replacement was doing just the same and got booked as well for a lunge.
The Reading goal came just after a substitution. Duberry pulled up with a groin strain and Reading brought Bikey on. His first job was to run up as Reading had a free-kick. The ball was sent to the edge of the area and Ingermarrson sent the ball towards the goal and Kevin Doyle. Amazingly, Cech came to collect the ball, and only suceeded in taking out Doyle and his markers. The ball went untouched across the 6 yard box to fall at an amazed Bikey’s feet, who planted the ball in the net from his first touch of the game.
The crowd went wild and for the rest of the half it was party atmosphere (”Sidwell, Sidwell, what’s the score?”) The Chelsea fans were pretty poor. Noisy at the start, but repetitive. As soon as they were behind, they shut up. Sadly, Reading failed to make it 2 or 3-0 when they had the changes. Someone blased over the ball, Doyle shot a couple tamely and worst of all Oster hit the post from about 6 yards away.
The 2nd half started and Mourhino took a gamble with making all his substitutions and it paid off. Sidwell was replaced and it allowed Lampard to get further forward. Whilst Reading were trying to sort this out, Chelsea scored. Lampard was left unmarking in midfield by Cisse and drove through to score. Poor defending, and perhaps the goalkeeper should have saved it.
2 minutes later it was 2-1 and there was nothing Marcus could have done with the 2nd. Drogba hit and excellent curling powerful strike from 30 yards (exactly as the bloke in the line for the beer at half time told me he would do!).
The Chelsea fans woke up (”Sidwell, Sidwell, what’s the score?” Doesn’t actually work if he isn’t playing) to which Reading replied with “You only sing when your winning”. What I truly hated was all the suits in the West Stand coming out of their little boxes cheering. 1) Get in the away end 2) if you are in the wrong end, be subtle 3) don’t watch the game on tv when you are at the ground. One fat suited git got pelted by something and when complained to a steward was told to shut up. Good work from the stewards. And he really annoyed a St. Johns Ambulance person. Would probably have been chucked out if he wasn’t in a box!
After the goals, Chelsea mostly sat back on their lead with breaks from Malouda (looked sharp) and Wright-Philips (fast but ineffective). Reading had no answer and whilst they made a few chances, they’d run out of steam. It got worse when Cisse was sent off for a 2nd booking. Pizzaro went down in similar fashion to Evra, but unlike Kitson, Cisse had mearly clipped him. I think that is the only way Pizzaro fits in at Chelsea. On what I’ve seen so far, he doesn’t look Premiership class, let alone Chelsea class (not that they have class, but you understand what I mean).
Oster, Long and Doyle faded from the game in the second half and we really needed our injuried/suspended players back. Little, Lita and Kitson could have turned the game back to us, and it shows how small our squad is compared to Chelsea who managed to turn the game with their substitutions despite having a number of players out injured.
Ashley Cole got booked late on for the worst piece of time wasting I’ve ever seen. He effectively walked away from the pitch with the ball in his hands. If the ref had let him, he’d have gone down the tunnel with in. Then he kicked it away.
It ended 2-1 to Chelsea and Hunt and Cech hugged (apparently; I rushed off to the bus dead on final whistle as no doubt it would leave on time even if it had been late arriving) and Reading fans were left wondering how close we’d got again. What might have been. Chelsea will be relying on Drogba a lot this season, even more than Terry and Cech as he is the player they have got to turn draws into wins.
You might also want to read :I’m actually a little bit nervous ahead of the game tonight against Chelsea. Not entirely sure why, as I can’t remember being nervous for a Premier League game before. Certainly not before the Middlesborough game, that was just pure excitement, as was Sunday’s game against Man United. Also, we have very little to lose as Chelsea are one of the big four. I wasn’t particularly bothered about losing 4-0 to Arsenal, although it is not something I’d want to watch every week.
No, I think I’m a little bit nervous on behalf of Stephen Hunt. As the media has helpfully pointed out, it will be Chelsea and Petr Cech’s first visit to Reading since that night. I’m sure he’ll take it in his stride, but I’m worried Mourhino will do something, or Hunt will let the occasion get to him, react badly to a challenge or something.
I almost forgot about the return of Steve Sidwell. I’m sure he’ll get a cheer from most of the Reading fans (probably when his name is read out as one of the substitutes). Cech will also be applauded and Hunt will be cheered. I’d like to think Mourhino will be totally ignored, but I know better. Still, he deserves it, and probably loves the abuse anyway.
The bus comes at 7 and hopefully will manage to get up the hill; we were so nearly late for the last evening game. There are more buses this season, and a train station is planned for 2008, so that should help with the traffic a bit.
You might also want to read :It was a fantastic result, a great defensive performance and had some tactical genius from “Sir” Steve Coppell.
With De La Cruz and Murty in the line-up, I was wondering what sort of formation Reading were going to line up with. Normally, when Reading go 4-5-1 (a rare event usually only occurring when playing United or another big team) it is Gunnarsson who comes in at the expense of the second striker. But Gunnarsson is starting the season as first choice replacement for Sidwell, so De La Cruz came into the side.
What happened was that Murty man-marked Giggs, Shorey went on Ronaldo and Duberry on Rooney. This was real man to man marking and very hard to do. Often Murty and Shorey were next to each other as they followed their men all over the place. Duberry often ended up in midfield as Rooney dropped deep to collect the ball. Most of the time, United were unable to create any great chances. Their best chance in the first half came when Ronaldo got away from Shorey, was left 1-1 against Hunt. Hunt was left for dead by some great skill and Ronaldo floated the ball to the far post. Giggs took a shot and hit the outside of the post.
One chance Rooney had ended his game. As the ball came in from wide, Rooney rose to meet the ball, Duberry as usual in close attendance. When both players came down, Duberry landed on Rooney’s foot and it turned out to be broken. Rooney limped off, and was replaced by Nani in the second half.
United had even more possession in the second half, but seemed less potent without Rooney as they had no real striker. However, Reading just couldn’t clear the ball properly as Ferdinand and Vidic kept a close eye on Kevin Doyle. It got worse when Doyle was replaced by Kitson. 37 seconds after coming on, Dave closed down Evra from a throw and mistimed his tackle, catching Evra with studs on the leg. The ref ran over as fast as his little legs could carry him and brandished the red card. It was really harsh on the forward but the tackle did look nasty. However, most people agreed it should have been yellow. In fact, I noticed that Rooney did a similar challenge on De La Cruz in the first half which was a simple foul (ok, it wasn’t such full on contact as Kitson’s but was a similar thing and the difference was in the timing not the intent).
In the end, Reading held on to get a well deserved point. I should also point out that the travelling Reading fans out sung 70-odd thousand Man United fans. I can’t wait for Wednesday night, with a home crowd in full voice and the visit of Chelsea, sure to be interesting with Jose Mourinho and Steven Hunt involved.
You might also want to read :The official site has a factfile on Fae. One thing I noted from the list was
He played a number of those African Cup Of Nations games on the right wing.
Interesting. If Gunnarsson and Harper play in the middle (or other new signing Cisse) then Fae could operated on the right wing if Little is still injured and Seol does leave, or form drops again.
When Coppell said he wanted to sign a central midfielder and a right winger, we all thought he meant two players, but perhaps he was only after one player
You might also want to read :The popular theory is Reading are going to be relegated this coming season. The most quoted reason is the dreaded “Second Season Syndrome”.
Even Kevin Doyle is thinking about the terrible plight of teams that get promoted, do well in their first season and then get relegated the next :-
“It seems to happen to anyone who comes up and finishes in the top half, the second season seems to be more difficult and they struggle,” the 23-year-old told BBC Sport.
However, Second Season Syndrome is a myth created by one team, Ipswich Town, doing well in their first season and being relegated the next, and promoted by the trials last season of West Ham and Wigan.
The theory goes that new teams to the Premiership will be “found out” in their second season and will be relegated.
Yet, if you look at the facts, a different picture emerges. In truth only four teams have been relegated from the Premiership after staying up in their first season. This comes from 20 sides that have survived their first season, a very healthy 80% survival rate.
Of those four, two teams stayed up by the skin of their teeth the previous season, both being one place above the relegation zone. Both Bradford and West Brom had last day survivals which only postponed their relegation by one season. Middlesbrough, promoted in 1995, finished 12th in their first season before going back down. Their relegation was secured only by a three point deduction for failing to play a game against Blackburn.
In fact, there is only one side the second season syndrome actually applies to and that is Ipswich. Of course, you could say that both West Ham and Wigan suffered it last season but survived, but in reality West Ham had rather more to worry about than it being their second season in the top flight. Again, Wigan had their own problems to contend with rather than suffer from a particular problem that is a myth.
So Reading will not suffer from 2nd Season Syndrome. They might struggle, they might be relegated. This is still a dream. But we’ll do well or badly on our own terms, not on how Ipswich Town faired in 2002.
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