Superman joins Kitson at Stoke!

In a somewhat unlikely move, Ibrahima Sonko has signed for Stoke City in deal worth in the region of £2.5m. Reading's top scorer this season has had a pretty indifferent 12 months in which his Superman reputation has become a little tarnished. Despite his solid form over the first few games this season I think the deal has to be seen as pretty good business for a player still struggling to find his best form, however with Michael Duberry out for a few weeks it seems we are a little depleted now in central defence. 

Royals raid Blades to sharpen up defence

The Royals finally got their man when left back Chris Armstrong signed from Sheffield United this on Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation. The 26 year old looks certain to feature against Crystal Palace on Saturday when he'll face  a side managed by his former gaffer Neil 'Colin' Warnock. Armstrong is a hard working and experienced player but it'll be tough to fill the boots of Nicky Shorey (in his prime). That said I feel a lot better now a genuine left back is playing in that position, Stephen Hunt has been OK in an unfamiliar role, but I'd prefer to see him where he can be most effective and that's further up the pitch.

Royals thump Hatters in Carling Cup

Reading romped to a 5-1 win over struggling League Two outfit Luton Town. Goals from both Hunts, Jem Karacan, James Henry and Alex Pearce ensured a young Royals side eased past the Hatters and into the third round in front of 7,500 fans at the Madejski Stadium.

Royals pay the penalty at the Valley

Reading went down 4-2 in an incident-packed game at the Valley on Saturday. Kevin Doyle missed the chance to cancel out Charlton's opener but saw his penalty slam against the bar. The home side went further ahead on 42 minutes but Sonko levelled with a powerful header on the stroke of half time. In the second half Stephen Hunt had more joy than his compatriot from the spot but needed two attempts to level things, however it was Charlton who came back stronger and finished us off with goals from Luke Varney and Hameur Bouazza.

So the harsh truth is that we failed our first real test in the Championship this season, and once again Doyle's form comes under scrutiny, especially with Noel Hunt looking lively and hitting the bar when he joined the action. It would be far too easy to blame one person, but who knows how the game might have panned out had we got level at 1-1? As it was we were always chasing the game. Perhaps a bigger concern is the conceding of four after two games of pretty solid defending. Steve Coppell has this at the forefront of his mind too:

"Last week people were complimenting us for our clean sheets - now it's the opposite end of the spectrum."

Maybe we need to find that left back sooner rather than later Steve? We have to bounce back strongly against Palace next week in front of the faithful, especially as we already find ourselves five points behind pacesetters Bongo FC.