Led by donkeys?

Imagine, if you will, the following scenario: in the heat of the battle one army is taking an almighty hammering and appears to be encircled, taking losses from all sides. The beleaguered soldiers are in the main young and inexperienced but have a firm belief in their young, charismatic commander who is leading from the front. Despite having lost the best fighters with no hope of reinforcements, slowly but surely and with will and determination things seem to be turning around and the opposing armies are being beaten back inch by inch. Suddenly, just hours before a big campaign to break out of the encirclement, word is sent from behind the front line that the commander is being relieved of his duties. The high command have decided to promote a lieutenant with no experience at all in the hope that he might come good in the hour of need, whilst the commander is told he is no longer fit enough to lead his men, just when it seemed to all that a victory was possible.

That's how I see things going at Reading FC right now. The preposterous claim that Brian MacDermott (who I have absolutely nothing against I might add) offers 'continuity' sums up the situation. Sadly, the way things look at the moment nothing suggests that 2010 will be any better than the 'annus horribilis' of 2009.

Church late show grabs deserved point at Ashton Gate

On December 19th I wrote the Reading Post fan verdict for the match against Bristol City. Here's the full version before editing.

Brian McDermott took over the reins from the ousted Brendan Rodgers, and saw his side earn a thoroughly deserved point against Bristol City. Royals fans were in good voice from the off - despite the bitter cold at Ashton Gate - and were right behind a fairly familiar looking side that included Ryan Bertrand reinstated at Left Back back after illness. Shane Long partnered Gregorsz Rasiak up front.

Reading imposed themselves well in a fairly open first 10 minutes but a dubious (to say the least!) penalty decision altered the complexion of the game. There seemed to be nothing in Jay Tabb's 13th minute challenge on Maynard, but Paul Hartley took the penalty well and suddenly we found ourselves one down. The attitude shown by the Royals after this setback was admirable as they completely dominated the rest of the first half, dictating the tempo of the game, creating a few decent chances and restricting the home side to a few infrequent and ineffective counter-attacks. The sense of injustice from the penalty galvanised the Reading fans as well, who were vociferous in their condemnation of the referee but equally vocal in support of their team.

In the second half Reading continued to dominate but as the minutes ticked by there was a palpable sense of deja vu in the Wedlock Stand as, despite the good approach play and passing, chances were spurned. Shane Long was the chief culprit who had, in truth, a pretty poor day at the office. Simon Church replaced Long after 73 minutes and was himself guilty of squandering a decent chance, but he made no mistake when he hooked home at the near post after some excellent work from the impressive Jimmy Kebe. Exuberant celebrations ensued resulting in Simon Church receiving a 2nd yellow card (from a petulant referee!) which meant we had to play time added on with 10 men. As expected City suddenly threw themselves into the game after being almost completely subdued by the away team..After a few hairy moments the valuable point was secure.

We've seen Reading play like this a few times this season and get nothing, but the way the team responded to going behind suggests this young team has a strength of character beyond their years. We still need to find some confidence in front of goal, but McDermott can be very pleased with the manner in which the players responded after such a difficult week. 1200 fans went home with a little Christmas cheer and some confidence and hope for 2010.

Man of the Match
Kalifa Cisse was my man of the match, a muscular but smart performance that at times reminded me of Steve Sidwell in his pomp. He broke up play well, got stuck in and allowed Marek Matejovsky the time and space he thrives on to be influential throughout.

I'd rate the game at 7/10 with the Royals performance getting 8/10

Miscellaneous!
Had a decent fish and chips lunch just round the corner from the ground!
No beer for away fans? Mind you, it was not exactly cold beer weather!

Keep Calm and Carry On...

If you tuned in to BBC Radio Berkshire after yesterday's football match at London Road, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that Reading Football Club had been sold for a fiver to a demented Oxford-supporting billionaire, who'd then decided to immediately change the name to the 'Thames Valley Arse Drovers', insist we play in yellow and green stripes and formulate a dastardly plan to erase the good name of RFC from the history books. However, no insidious plan had been hatched from Madejski Towers. The fuming texters had chosen to take up Tim Dellor and that other Johnny bloke's offer to 'vent their spleen' after a dismal and fairly inexplicable capitulation to Peterborough. The tone of irate fans bombarding the show was one of apoplectic rage, simmering under a layer of downright disgust at anyone connected with the club. Those in the firing line were the usual suspects of course: the Players, the Manager (and staff), the Chairman and the Director of Football. All received the ire of supporters in shock after a game which we conspired to throw away after a fine start which saw us take a deserved two-goal lead. For some this was the final straw - 'sack Rodgers, I always said we'd struggle with him at the helm' - others saw this as the culmination of two years of decline, 'What's happened to my beloved club!?' asked one inconsolable fan.

Ringleader of the Tormentors

The stream of invective continued, ably egged on by the aforementioned Dellor, who had clearly almost lost his cool as he sat quivering with rage at London Road. At one point after suggesting that 'the players aren't good enough' (the same players he'd praised on Wednesday night and about an hour before for a fine first half performance) he looked to see if there was a clue in Brendan Rodgers' voice and oratory skills, perhaps these weren't quite up to scratch and simply couldn't inspire his players. Oh dear Tim. I've heard more insightful even-handed arguments standing at an East Stand urinal. Steve Coppell was not exactly Barack Obama was he? I heard he did OK. I've always thought BR's interviews suggest he's actually a pretty good motivator in the dressing room. He sounded pretty angry with the 2nd half performance, I doubt he needs to be told by anyone that it was unacceptable.

Reasons to be cheerful?

In the immediate aftermath of a last-gasp defeat to a team we should have beaten I would expect to hear some anger, some passion and some criticism from fans, hell, I was fuming! However yesterday went beyond that into the arena of the ludicrous. Firstly, look at the table. Struggling yes, but we're not actually in the relegation zone; our record is 1 win, 3 draws and 4 defeats. One of those defeats was unlucky, and another was away against a team who are likely to finish in the top 2; we've kept 3 clean sheets. There's a plan borne of a clear vision, and it worked beautifully in the first half against the Posh and for periods against Cardiff too.

Why we're not Newcastle, thankfully.

The club has never bowed to fan pressure. Alan Pardew suffered the ignominy (albeit mainly directed at the players) of having to witness thousands of fans waving their underpants in the air. People were calling for his head not that long before he turned things around and laid the foundations for the most phenomenal success in the club's history. So to the 'Sack Brendan' brigade I would say this: if not Brendan then who? Gus Poyet?! Glenn Hoddle?! Or does anyone really think that we can prise another good Championship manager away from their club - especially as most of them are doing better than us! Nobody is going to ride up Hoops Way on a white steed and lead us back into the Premier League. Right now it's roll-up sleeves time and stop living in the past. We have a set of players with talent, and a manager who is better positioned than anyone to get them performing. Let them get on with it - and if we're still struggling in a month's time with no visible signs of progression you can unsheathe your knives then.

Crisis? What crisis?!

A couple of weeks ago you'd be forgiven for thinking that, five games in to a new season under a new management team, Reading FC was a club in some kind of irreversible plummet towards League One. What a difference an away win can make, not only to the league table, but to the overall mood surrounding the club and its supporters. Having not won at home since January, entertaining Sheffield United on the back of two draws, one defeat and precisely no goals was always going to be a tough assignment, and so it proved. Despite taking the lead with a goal from Matt Mills on his Madejski debut it was a 1-3 reversal that prolonged the wait for that elusive home victory. Once again there was plenty of positives, but that lack of quality in the final third that was becoming painfully obvious. Poor old Adam Federici too, the hero of the goalless draw at Swansea City a few days earlier with a penalty save, it was his error that allowed the Blades back in the game. Suddenly the Royals were languishing near the bottom without a win and just one goal from four games. Even for a new manager with a clear rebuilding plan these were testing times for Brendan Rodgers. A midweek Carling Cup fixture against fellow Championship strugglers Barnsley would provide the perfect opportunity to put league woes away for the night and register a victory. Unfortunately, despite being the better side throughout it was the Tykes who progressed to round 3 meaning more misery at the Madejski. A league game at Oakwell a few days later would be a chance to reverse the result against Barnsley. Prior to that two new additions to the squad of Jobi McAnuff and Gregor Rasiak softened the blow of losing out on number one summer target Tommy Smith. Rasiak made the trip to Oakwell but it was Noel Hunt who provided the killer instinct after a disastrous start that saw the Royals go behind within 20 minutes. Maybe this was the youngsters coming of age, being 'blooded' as it were. At that point it would have been easy to capitulate after being outplayed away from home. To the team's credit they dug deep and found something beyond the promising pretty football. Sometimes you have to go direct when required, and Noel Hunt has the poacher instinct that has been is lacking from Shane Long's game. A 3-1 win and things look a lot rosier as we go into the international break. A collective sigh of relief perhaps, from players, management and fans.

The club is clearly in a transitional phase beyond anything anyone could have imagined at the end of last season. Sure, we expected to lose Doyle and Shunt, heck maybe Bikey and Harper too. More surprising is the loan departure of Liam Rosenior, though I'm not a big fan, clearly this is a decision that is driven by something other than football. The academy players are getting their chance, and there's some very exciting prospects amongst them. It's going to be a season with ups and downs, but exciting nonetheless. We're playing some attractive and creative football, if we can ally that to a killer instinct in front of goal this could be a very successful season - and that might just surprise a few people.

Royals thumped by Magpies

It's very early days, but the Championship table shows the Royals languishing in the bottom three after a drubbing at St. James' Park. An impressive crowd of 36,000 saw Brendan Rodgers' young side start impressively enough but fall behind to a Shola Ameobi header ten minutes before half time. Up until then the youngsters had performed well enough, passing with confidence and looking purposeful on the counter-attack. Nervous home supporters had little to cheer about, and after Kevin Nolan's sumptuous through ball was fluffed by Gutierrez it looked like it could have been anybody's game. Everything changed when Ameobi rose above Alex Pearce and headed down past Federici. The second half was very much a case of boys vs. men, chasing the game was going to be hard for an inexperienced royals side, made virtually impossible when Ameobi headed home the second after some sloppy defending. The third came from the penalty spot after Shane Long was judged to have handled, but by then we were looking a little ragged and very short of ideas. Noel Hunt, Jim Harper and Hal Robson-Kanu were thrown into the frey to no avail, although Hunt went close late on with a decent shot that went just wide.

So no goals and a heavy defeat. No shame for the kids to lose against a side with plenty of top flight experience. Brendan didn't seem too perturbed afterwards, we lost to the better side, it's been useful experience, now let's move on. However you can't help feeling that as hungry and talented as these youngsters undoubtedly are, we really need to add some more experience and maybe some more attacking threat to bolster the squad. I've no doubt that bringing the likes of Scott Davies and Robson-Kanu into the first team is the right move, after all there is no point in having an academy if you don't use the talent you've nurtured. The concern might be that if we go a couple more matches without a goal or a win the the pressure begins to mount already. I'm sure we'll see a couple of additions before the end of August (Tommy Smith surely?) and everything will come right. Interestingly we travel to bottom club Swansea City on Tuesday night...