Tuesday, 10 November 2009
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Marek the magician
All hail Marek Matejovsky! The saviour of a dying season. The man who put faith back into the fans. The player that provides the little spark to ignite Reading's motionless engine. The King of Madejski, well for the last two games at least.
The Czech Republic international has already showed more flare and creativity than any other centre midfielder this term and his quality is vital if Reading are going to have a somewhat successful season.
He wasn't favoured by Brendan Rodgers to begin with and injury prevented him having an active influence, but now he's narrowing back to full match fitness his impact will become even more significant.
Against Leicester City, a game that Reading should have never had lost, he was instrumental to everything good the Royals did and fully deserved his man of the match award. It just shows what a little bit of class can do and how it can have a positive impact on the rest of the team.
Suddenly confidence is high and the win at Coventry was no accident. Just a fantastic pass can jeer up the team and especially a crowd. He's single-handedly lifted morale and installed supporters faith back into the team.
He is definitely the most naturally gifted player in the current squad and makes much of the squad look like dirty old average Sunday league players. And after some of the performances this season, you would have thought that was the case.
As reported in the local evening paper recently, Matejovsky expressed his desire to stay with the club and after the way he was treated earlier on in the season, its great that a player of his magnitude shows his commitment to the club.
Marek is definitely the Rolls Royce of Reading FC and an extended run in the team is a must.
Rodgers may just have to thank Matejovsky for saving his job.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Struggling to Score
Who would have thought it? The famously-coined Brendan's Babes are not performing the way everyone was expecting.
Rodgers was once again pleased with his team's endeavour, effort, and approach however - but ultimately rued a lack of luck and clinical finishing in front of goal for another defeat in a dismal home record.
But action is needed; a win is necessary. Before the game Rodgers spoke realistically of play-offs but that may be a little out of reach now unless miracles begin to happen, like Shane Long finding his inner Kevin Doyle and contributing 20 goals. Well we can all dream can't we?
Previous seasons have seen Sunderland and Crystal Palace spring from positions like Reading's and to end up promoted so theres hope but not much to cling on to. Playing for survival is very depressing and perhaps we are all expecting too much.
Humility
A good friend of mine, a huge Tottenham fan, says that after the poor start to the season they endeavoured last season he went into every game expecting to get nothing and ultimately they turned it around; it's not about showing hope but showing humility.
Learn from defeat and make sure the mistakes are cut out and grow as a unit, which, the QPR game aside, we are doing. Last night was a perfect example of that.
The positive thing about the game was how well Reading were playing and it is the lack of quality up front that was missing. Two goals in seven home games is frankly laughable and that stat alone shows there is no home sweet home for the Royals.
My heart was in my mouth when Jobi McAnuff hit the post and the follow-up, I thought, was a dead cert goal but it was all false hope. Even when Simon Church was through a goal surely beckoned but again it was a similar outcome when the shot trickled wide. Church was getting plenty of chances and that's probably the most encouraging thing.
Invaluable
It was blatantly obvious that the return Marek 'Magic' Matejovsky gave Reading that little quality and control in midfield, he was able to pick adventurous passes and create opportunities. And it was good to see the return of Alex Pearce to the heart of the defence where his leadership skills prove invaluable.
Heading to Coventry City is where you expect at least a point, but for now, I insist that a draw will be a good result. Start small people! Then a potential six-pointer against Ipswich Town at the Mad Stad, it must be a game where three points are obtainable. Theres me getting carried away again, a draw would be a reasonable result.
No expectation, no disappointment. Unfortunately I tend to take that philosophy going out on the pull in Walkabout afterwards. Reading is, let's be honest, not the prettiest of towns.
Hunting for Goals
Having international players such as Noel Hunt, Marek Matejovsky, etc always adds to the prestige of the club but the sheer fact that the team is in such dire straits on the field at the moment they needed extra time to pull themselves from the utter mare they're currently having. They should be on the training pitch righting all of the wrongs that has been this season.
The defeat to Middlesbrough was a bad one; the game lacked any real imagination. Reading were poor. No, they were terrible. Boro should have run riot and a 2-0 defeat was, on reflection, a let-off. A rare cheer went up after 86 minutes when Hunt managed to get a shot on target.
Brendan Rodgers insists he's the man to drag us out of what he started and true to form, I believe him; he's no mug and he knows these players better than anyone does. He openly admitted that Reading were poor, not blaming the referee like a certain red-nosed old bloke in Manchester.
Hurdle
A home win is all that is needed. If that is achieved then the rest will follow with much ease, but it's getting over that first hurdle which has taken a lot longer than anticipated. We expected great football; I sincerely hope it will come soon.
A dip into the loan market would not go a miss with a striker that can actually find the back of the net the priority. Noel Hunt needs a partner; Simon Church is not prolific, Shane Long is absent for too much of the game and Grzegorz Rasiak is just useless. He's a panic buy if I have ever seen one.
Defensively Reading are sorted. Spoilt with good commanding centre halves, we can boast a solid backline: Ivar Ingimarsson, Darren O'Dea, Alex Pearce and Matt Mills are all top-notch. Ryan Bertrand is class and Shaun Cummings is slowly making more of an impact.
The midfield is fully of talent and some work needs to done to find out what is the best mock-up. For me, it has to be Jem Karacan plus two others. And with the international break who knows what injuries or mysterious illnesses could become apparent.
Nevertheless, an awkward trip to West Brom awaits and if they can beat Middlesbrough 5-0 away, we would be expecting a goal fest. I just hope Reading will be scoring at least one.
Should Reading sign a striker on loan? Is that home win the final piece of the jigsaw? Let us know what you think by filling in the feedback form below and we'll publish the best of your views.