BACK TO ARCHIVE INDEX © All written site content is copyright ComeOnBoro.com 2004-2007, unless otherwise stated, and is not to be used without prior permission.	WARDY'S TACTICS TALK - READING v BORO 18-8-06 Stuart Ward Right, first things first! I have supported Boro all my life and am also obsessed with most things sporting, and in particular football. This season on ComeOnBoro.com I will be your brilliant tactical guru, looking at all things match related, both Boro and their opponents, focusing on the tactics likely to be employed by both teams and how I would do things better! First off, I am going to take a look at Premiership new boys, and Fizzypop League winners, Reading FC. Key Players Leeroy Lita - A small (5'8") striker, Lita's main weapon is his blistering pace, and rather good eye for goal. In total last season he bagged eighteen goals, this despite missing the last three months of the season with a broken ankle and this demonstrates his importance to the team. He returned from the ankle injury during pre-season and has been a huge success, scoring a fair few goals so far. Lita is definitely the one to watch, and the partnership he forges with Dave Kitson up front will be pivotal in what is sure to be a relegation dogfight for Reading this season. Dave Kitson - Was top scorer last season for Reading, netting twenty-two goals in thirty-two starts, and has been a prolific striker throughout his career, although this has mainly been in lower league football. Kitson is the Niall Quinn to Leeroy Lita's Kevin Philips. He is a big strong man, who also has a pretty good touch, as well as some nice moves. As mentioned above he has very little experience at this level, and could well be found out, I think he might fall into the Geoff Horsfield "failure" category rather than the Andy Johnson side of things. Ibrahima Sonko - The physically imposing Frenchman appeared in all but one of the Royals games last season, and made a big name for himself as a no nonsense, high quality defender. He has previously appeared for and captained Senegal's Under-23 squad, though he is still available for selection for France as he is yet to make a competitive start for his native country. Expect to see him keeping a close eye on Mr Viduka throughout the match. The Manager Steve Coppell - The former Manchester United star and England International took Reading into the Premier League as resounding Champions of the Coca Cola Championship (still a ridiculous name!). He likes his teams to play an attractive, attacking brand of football, and Reading can be expected to try and survive "the right way", much as Iain Dowie's Crystal Palace side did. Unfortunately they may well have the same end result. Relegation. Right, there you have an overview of the main players that Gareth Southgate should look out for and here is the likely formation that he will come up against. Marcus Hahnemann Graeme Murty - Ibrahima Sonko - Ivar Ingimarrsonn - Nick Shorey Glenn Little - Steve Sidwell - Brynjarr Gunnarsonn - Ki Hyeon Leeroy Lita - Dave Kitson It would seem from their pre-season games thus far that Reading like to play a traditional 4-4-2 with their wingers getting forward to support the strikers, providing the team with assists and goals. Ki Hyeon Seoul seems to be a particular favourite on the left, with the new signing from Wolves already weighing in with a few goals from the left wing and generally impressing with his attacking play. Down the right wing, Glenn Little is a bit different from most wingers, whilst possessing a fair bit of skill and pace, he is also a threat in the air at 6'3" tall, and this could well be exploited against the diminutive Julio Arca and a Stewart Downing who seems to think his head will fall off if it comes into contact with a football. Steve Sidwell is a key part of the Reading midfield, and is apparently getting admiring glances off a few of the more established teams in the Premier League. He is a player who could make the same sort of impact as Jimmy Bullard did at Wigan last season. He likes to make runs forward from midfield, and can either score goals himself or set them up for others. He is most definitely one who our new captain could do with putting his mark (or boot) on early doors! I am thinking that Reading will have that same mentality as any team from the lower leagues. They will fight and scrap for every ball in the middle, especially Icelander Gunnarsonn who has developed himself a reputation as a tough tackling central midfielder who is also useful on the ball. When not bombing down the wings, Reading are going to look to the physical presence of Dave Kitson to hold the ball up then feed it in for Leeroy Lita to try and exploit Boro's notoriously slow backline with his pace. Middlesbrough Key Players Fabio Rochembach - Fabio endured a torrid start to his Boro career and was the victim of the infamous Boro boo boys (led by a certain Bernie Slaven) who saw fit to criticise his every move. To be fair, he was pretty poor for the first half of the season, however he began to find his feet in the latter stages of the season, pulling all the strings in the midfield and being more than instrumental in our run to the UEFA cup final. He has started preseason in blistering form and is beginning to look the part. He has an awesome range of passing, isn't afraid to shoot and will also track back when needs be. I am fully expecting him to have a VERY good game and also to be in the running for player of the season. Aiyegbeni Yakubu - The Nigerian beast finished his first season as a Boro player as top scorer, despite our last manager's lunatic tactics meaning that he was "rotated", even though he was in great form. He then went on to not score a goal in God knows how long! The Yak has started preseason in goal scoring form, netting three times in three games and playing rather nicely alongside Massimo Maccarone. He has the ability to terrify defences with his powerful surges infield from a left wing starting position and can also plough the lone furrow up front by himself to good effect. The Reading defence will not have come up against anyone of this lads quality before, and he looks all set for a big start to an even bigger season. George Boateng - The Boat has been appointed as new skipper for the new season, and I think it is going to make him even more of an inspiration for his team mates and fans alike. Over the last couple of seasons, Boateng has been taken from Boro by a series of seemingly innocuous injuries (broken toe, chipped fingernail and the like) and given that he is widely acknowledged as one of the finest defensive midfielders in the country, this has been a huge blow. If he stays fit then he will be a huge asset to Boro's drive towards the top six. Everyone knows that George can't pass the ball for toffee but he is going to need to be on top form for this match, as mentioned above. The Reading midfielders are likely to work their socks off and it is going to be up to George to protect our increasingly frail looking defence. The Manager Gareth Southgate - This will be Sir Gareth's first competitive game in charge of Boro and for one I cannot wait. As captain last season, he knows this set of players better than anyone, and is already a hero with the fans after becoming Boro's first ever, trophy lifting captain. He has already stated publicly that he wants Boro to attack teams this season, and from the look of the friendlies he is certainly making good on that desire. Formation Mark Schwarzer Stuart Parnaby - Chris Riggott - Emanuel Pogatetz - Julio Arca James Morrison - Fabio Rochembach - George Boateng - Stewart Downing Aiyegbeni Yakubu - Mark Viduka Boro are most likely to stick with a 4-4-2 formation unless a new centre half is found before kick-off. In that case Southgate may be persuaded to go for a 3-5-2 formation, allowing the more attacking minded Arca to bomb forward down the left to support Stewart Downing. As things stand though, Boro's defensive line could be in trouble, particularly against wingers. The Boro left flank should be a focus point for any opposition team wishing to get numerous crosses into the box. We all know that Stewart Downing, whilst getting better at it, is not a fan of carrying his defensive responsibilities, and would rather undergo a course of colonic-irrigation than put his foot in. By all accounts this is about to be compounded by the flogging of French Franck, and his replacement by Julio Arca, the attackingly minded "left back" who is only playing there as Downing is left winger. If any team gets a chance to get at these two, they will get crosses in all day long. The right is also a hellish weak point, as most Boro fans will be able to tell you that Stuart Parnaby is not Premier League quality by any stretch of the imagination, the Korean International for Reading should be able to get joy out of both him and Morrison all day long. The midfield looks alright, with Fabio Rochembach set to be a key player. His on the ball skill and vision should be more than enough to unlock the Reading defence. On the wings we look exciting going forward, I expect to see Downing and Morrison, although I have a horrible suspicion that Mendieta may appear right wing. If we stick with the youngsters then we will have pace and trickery on both wings, something that will make us the envy of the entire League. As I mentioned earlier, Boateng has a huge game ahead of him, he has to protect our backline and I expect him to do this with his usual fire and fight. Up front Boro will look to Mark Viduka to be the focal point for all attacks. His world-class touch in and around the area should lead to chances for both him and his teammates, particularly Yakubu, who should thrive on a long run in the first team and a consistent strike partnership with Viduka. How it might go This is looking like it could be a VERY close match. While I want to scream that we should be beating a team that has just come from the Championship and whose only signings have come from Championship teams, I think that this is going to be difficult. The ground will be packed, and Reading will be well up for this one. It is Gareth Southgate's first competitive match, and he is up against a manager who has far more experience than him. I think it is going to take Boro a while to get into their stride, and our defence is looking VERY weak at the minute. Players like Parnaby and Morrison don't fill me with a huge amount of confidence at the minute, and unless they are really up for a scrap I don't reckon we will have enough to match the desire and fight that Reading are likely to bring. I don't think it is going to be a goal filled encounter, and I expect Reading to shade it by the odd goal. Well there you have it, my first ever Tactical Analysis for ComeOnBoro.com. I look forward to providing my own unique insights into Boro's season every week. Until next time. Stuart Ward. READING FANS WELCOME IN THE NEW HOLGATE MESSAGE BOARD READING v BORO MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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