A WAY THROUGH THIS
READING v MIDDLESBROUGH
Jonathan Way, 3 Oct 2009
Disastrous.
Is how Boro supporters can sum up Tuesday night's result against Leicester City. Being beaten at the Riverside by a team that hadn't won away all season was another embarrassing blow to the club. Possibly our worst match of the campaign so far became the last straw for many fans, who are now calling for Gareth Southgate to be sacked after Boro have gained only one point from their last three games.
Following their disappointing defeat in the play-off semi-final to Burnley last season, Reading have had a poor start this time around, with only two wins from their opening ten fixtures. Royals manager Brendan Rodgers will be aiming to finally clinch his first home win after impressively defeating high-flying Preston 2-1 at Deepdale.
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Darren O'Dea v David Wheater
After coming to the Madejski Stadium on loan from Celtic, the young Irish international has made a positive impact and was possibly Reading's best player in mid-week. Despite recently signing a three year deal with the Scottish giants, O'Dea has expressed his desire to stay with the Royals until he can make it into his club's starting eleven.
The Boro skipper will certainly have been bitterly disappointed with the result against Leicester. Wheater will be fully focused on putting things right this weekend after a glorious chance at the end of the game to save a point came to no avail as he steered his shot wide.
Ryan Bertrand v Joe Bennett
The Chelsea loanee is another defender who has made a big impact under Rodgers, having started every game so far this campaign. Looking to break into the England under-21s, the speedy left-back will be hoping to secure Reading's first clean sheet in five matches.
After making his first competitive appearance in our final fixture of last season and impressing many, Bennett started his second successive game for Middlesbrough on Tuesday night. If he keeps up these decent displays, the 19-year-old is definitely going to make it tough for the likes of Taylor and Poggy to get back into the side.
Jimmy Kebe v Didier Digard
The Royals' number 14 netted his first goal of the campaign against Preston, the winning goal. Described by some fans as one of the worst players to appear at the Madejski, hopefully this is what Kebe will play like as it will help us gain our fourth away win of the season.
The Frenchman came on as a late substitute against Leicester City to make his third appearance of the campaign but couldn't do anything to overturn the result. If Boro are to end this awful run, we really should start Digard and hopefully he will return to his best and repeat some of his outstanding performances from last season.
Jobi McAnuff v Jeremie Aliadiere
The 27-year-old followed his old manager to the Madejski in the summer after a disappointing spell at Watford. Despite playing some good football, McAnuff is still looking for his first goal for Reading and you just know when he is going to eventually score it!
It seemed that if we were ever going to score in mid-week, then the goal was going to come from Aliadiere. Hopefully starting this game alongside Lita, the quick forward showed some good skill against the Foxes, which I hope we will see again on Saturday.
With a dreadful home form of three draws and two defeats, a lot of people would see this as the perfect time to play the Royals. But as all Middlesbrough fans know, this will be the worst time to play them!
With Tuesday's terrible result still in mind, I don't have high expectations for this match. I think this will not just end 1-1 but it could also be the end of the road for Southgate.
