£30,000 for What? Hunt needs to go

Ok, I read something extraordinary, eerie and a bit disturbing. It is said on the Get Reading website that Stephen Hunt is being paid something in the region of £30,000 a week. Yes, a week.

Reading, the team that has just been relegated, the team who’s budget in often very limited in the best of times are shelling out far too much for a player who’s, honestly, not that good.

Reading this has just annoyed me more and being paid more than double anyone else in the team surely he’s warranted to put in a big performance now and again. Off hand, it’s hard to remember the last game he played better than average. Back in the glory days of top-flight football, he was good, better than average most of the time and remembering games against Everton and West Ham at home showed the world how good he could be. However a season down in the doldrums of the Championship indicates that he does not want to be with the club anymore.

Brendan Rodgers understand that his budget will be severely torn in half if Hunt does not leave by the end of August and he must be hoping for a bidder to enter the fray sooner rather than later.

Hunt’s mockery cameo appearances against Didcot Town and Kettering were indeed laughable especially that, in both games, he played left back as we don’t have Chris Armstrong up to scraps yet. Ryan Bertrand, just signed on a season long loan from Chelsea, will be sharing left back duty with Armstrong from now on and Rodgers’ seems reluctant to use Hunt in any sort of attacking formality.

And who can blame him. Why should he use a player that is obviously going to move on? Rightly, he’s giving youth a chance, a step I very much encourage. Hal Robson-Kanu performed wonders for Swind*n last season and he deserves a little run in the team to see if he is up to the task. James Henry definitely deserves a run in the team if he does well in preseason, especially with the hopelessness of Jimmy Kebe on our right wing.

It seems rather pointless having Hunt in the first team squad at all especially if Rodgers intentions are not use him and if he wants match sharpest a spell in the reserves wouldn’t be the worse thing.

Rumours on the paper fronts have gone dead recently as gossip of a move to Everton, Wigan, Fulham, Sunderland, or Bolton hasn’t appeared for a few weeks worryingly. No doubt, they will soon pick and these clubs have a potential bargain on their hands as Reading might just accept any bid that heads their way.

Therefore, any half-decent Premier League club out there please take Hunt off our hands, as he will be much more of use to you than he would us.

The Pre Season is Upon Us

It’s that time again kids. Well time for those overzealous adults for a deep unconditional love for Reading FC to dig deep in their wardrobes to get out their blue and whites, grab that thermos of Bovril and prepare themselves for another whirlwind adventure. Well Reading haven’t been like a whirlwind adventure for a while under the gamesmanship of Steve Coppell but hearing Rodgers’ ambitions and desires the club are set for one hell of a rollercoaster journey and boy I’m excited.

It’s been a long time since that crushing defeat to Burnley at the not very Mad Stad but nevertheless the new dawn is upon us and hope the sun will be shining stronger than ever. The annual trip down the road to the Loop Meadow Stadium is amongst us and surely a few Loyal Royals will be bounded to head down the A4074 to see what the season has in store for us.

I remember three years ago, I think, when a certain Jem Karacan kicked of his Reading career in style with a tremendous volley that any half-decent centre midfielder, and Reading have many of them, would be extremely proud off. This seasons agenda will be similar to last as ‘sticking out the reserves’ is not a welcomed opportunity that we can endeavour anymore. As a Championship side, we need as many games as possible to get the first team squad fit, ready and on form otherwise we are doomed to begin the season badly and we are somewhat famous for our good starts, so a bad start, an ok middle and a poor ending will not be a good season.

Didcot Town won’t provide us any real opposition and a routine win is what’s expected although it would be great to kick off the Brendan Rodgers era with a huge win with plenty of well worked goals. Some say the result don’t matter, I say the result definitely matters – a winning mentality is a successful one and that mindset needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

A winning mentality in football needs a good goal scorer and at the moment Reading severely lack one – making this game that all more important for players like Shane Long, David Mooney and Simon Church to get in amongst the goals to claim a rightful starting spot. Noel Hunt is good for a goal but the other three have huge boots to fill and scoring a jagged uneventful hat-trick would be good practise to show the Reading faithful as well as the new gaffer that they are capable of replacing Kevin Doyle, Dave Kitson and Leroy Lita.

Stephen Hunt will be in the team and getting rid of him must be a priority. The Irishman has a defining influence on the team and the set-up and the sooner he moves the sooner we can replace him. It’s hardly a new fact that Hunt is looking to move elsewhere and I wouldn’t particular use him in any real format anymore. That left side position is in need of strengthening and the possible signing of Tommy Smith reinitiates our desire to sign the Championship’s biggest names and make a real challenge to get back to the cooperate fat cats in the Premier League.
But for now it’s a game against Didcot and anything par a good win would ultimately be a disappointment.

Go on Longer get us a goal or four.

Gladly, Clubs are in the 'Hunt'

Depending on how you see it, there was great news coming out of Reading today.

Nick Hammond says the club have no qualms about Stephen Hunt declaring he wants to leave.

Brilliant, send him packing and to the next bidder, whatever that bid might be.

Don’t get me wrong, Hunt is a very good player - his natural ability is questionable but his exuberance and work rate shines out like a beckon. He has scored some important goals in the Premier League, after playing only a mere cameo role in our promotion season. His dedication to stay with the club was inspiring and down to him Reading’s good (ish) name tarnished in the media with his incident with Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. Did he mean it? Did he bollocks.

However, the second half of the previous season he was appalling, non-existence and if it wasn’t for the performances of Chris Armstrong our entire left side would have been very weak.

It’s beyond me what Sunderland, Wigan, Everton, Fulham and Bolton potentially see how Hunt could add anything to their teams but maybe a fresh start would be good for the Frodo look alike and propel him to perform to his ability rather than sulk like an irritable child.

Recently Hunt showed a vast lack of enthusiasm for Reading and rarely looks bothered whether he’s involved in the game or not. Therefore, the club and the fans should not want him at the club if he doesn’t want to be there.

It looks if he thinks he has gotten too big for the club so Reading should cash in – a £5 million pound release clause maybe a bit excessive and may scare of any bidders– and buy young player bursting with potential or give Hal Robson-Kanu a go down the left.

Even if he does go, it would be on a slight sour note, Hunt has given us all some good and some very funny memories.

The winner at Everton at home, the cheeky offside goal at Goodison, the one of six against West Ham, his involvement in Keith Gillespie’s sending off, they are all memorable but as this is a new era (it’s kept being said) and Hunt, a big personality living on past glories, needs to move on.

He will be missed. Who else can be as deceptive as he can in passing? or when he takes on defenders? The thing I will miss the most would be his tackling; it’s just not normal.