STEW'S PREVIEWS
READING v MIDDLESBROUGH
Stewart Flaherty, 2 Oct 2009
BORO EYE VIEW
Gareth Southgate's managerial reign started at Reading. If some fans have their way, it will end there too!
The worrying thing is that in that game in 2006, Boro had a 2-1 lead and suffered a late collapse, losing 2-3. Three years later and that case of affairs still sounds familiar.
If you read my Leicester preview, you will see a list of late goals conceded and meltdowns that concerned me. You can now add to that an 83rd minute goal that a solid looking Leicester team put past us.
No matter how you spin it, we have not been a solid unit since the sale of Huth and we need to toughen up defensively if automatic promotion is to be achieved.
Column Continues Below...
Boro live in a perpetual grey area.
It seems the pro-Southgate crew always have just enough justification to support him. Last season wasn't a disaster from day one (like Portsmouth now), rather success was sprinkled just enough to keep hope alive. This hope was finally extinguished on the last day of the season.
This season, we said 10 games was the benchmark. 10 games in and we are fourth. We are not in the mid-table out of touch position that would have seen a firing, but this season has not been a runaway success either.
It seems that the optimists have enough to be happy about, and the pessimists enough ammunition (such as a five goal beating to a West Brom team that lost their next two games, and the late goals conceded) to slate the current situation.
Whilst some find it frustrating, it certainly keeps us entertained. It is also heaven for message board and blog debates throughout cyber space!
My personal opinion is that when you cut through all the areas - the manager, the money, the fans, and whatever else - this game is simple.
Games are played one at a time and out on the pitch. And this Reading one provides another tough challenge. This may sound idealistic and boring, but this is how football is underneath all the media and hype.
However, the media and fans are very powerful and a poor result in this game could make Gareth's life very difficult for two weeks!
England continue their impressive cruise through World Cup qualification on October 10. This means Boro fans and journalists will have no game to focus on and a defeat could lead to a fortnight of bunkering in for the staff as the knives are sharpened in the town looking for managerial blood-letting!
The Daily Mail has already run the headline "Under-fire Middlesbrough Boss Insists He Can Take The Flak". Is this a blip or the start of a prolonged media assault?
READING EYE VIEW
I had Reading down as a pre-season promotion pick and have been rightly slaughtered for it!
However, I have no doubt this team is better than their league position. They are coming off an away win at Preston and a trip to the Madjeski is not a nice proposition on the back of the Leicester defeat.
They have had nine different players score this season and are bristling with talent and Premier League experience.
They have seen the Premier League in recent times, like us, and will hope the Preston result is a lauchpad to move up the league.
Returning home against a Boro team who have doubtless lost some of their aura on the back of three league defeats this season, they will be gunning for a win I imagine.
That they got three points is not something I want to be be 'Reading' in the papers on Sunday.
OVERVIEW
I think Boro may feel some pressure to get a result and this is not the easiest trip under those circumstances.
Reading will be boosted by the Preston win and looking to fire up the league. This is a big chance for them to get back to back wins over potential play-off rivals.
It is a real tough one and I would be happy to see Boro leave with a point.
HEAD TO HEAD
Goalkeepers
It appears that Brad Jones is back. This is not something I am particularly thrilled about and it seems harsh on Danny Coyne, who had played well and appeared to win the respect of fans and team-mates alike early doors.
It is now back to square one if this is the case as Jones is yet to do the same thing. Personally, I hope Coyne is injured and will return when fit.
Like Jones, Reading's Adam Federici is an Australian international, although neither appear to threaten Mark Schwarzer for the full time role and neither was called up to the most recent squad.
Edge: Even. Neither are spectacular. Jones needs a run of good games to win the faith of many.
Boro Defence v Reading Attack
I would love to write how Wheater and St. Ledger are gelling and forming a solid line, but they have not earned that yet.
To play well for long spells yet concede is average if you are chasing promotion. This has been the signature of their first few games together, with the exception of the West Brom debacle, which was worse than that.
St. Ledger has a goal to his name and I would bet he bags a few more. However, they need to keep clean sheets to have any confidence back there. The amount of goals conceded and the number of late goals in particular will eat away at confidence if they continue.
Wales Under-21 captain Simon Church leads the line for Reading. I remember him giving an England Under-21 side that featured David Wheater and Andrew Taylor fits scoring three goals over two legs in a UEFA Championship qualifying play-off last season.
Noel Hunt also plays up front and is similar to his more famous brother from Hull City, Stephen, both in pace, work rate and gypsy-like physical appearance. Hunt played in Ireland with forward David Mooney, who was 2007 Irish Player of the Year. All three of these players have bagged two goals each so far this season.
Reading's other threats include Grzegorz Rasiak, who has scored only one this season but has many goals in this division with both Derby County and Southampton.
Lastly, Shane Long has not only scored in the Premier League, but has performed one of the all time great goal celebrations after mullering the Reading mascot with a textbook rugby tackle.
Edge: Reading. The Royals have a number of players with the ability to score and the pace and movement of Church will be a big challenge.
Midfield
Gary O'Neil is excellent.
Southgate listed his strengths this week in an interview with the following praise: "He's as good a player as there is in this division and, in my opinion, probably the best. He's got fantastic energy, he closes teams down, he has ability on the ball, he always makes himself available for the ball, he makes runs off the ball, he's an excellent crosser of the ball and he scores goals. We've seen the influence he has. Quite simply, he takes responsibility and is a fantastic player to have in our side". High praise indeed!
I agree with this mostly, but my personal opinion is that Adam Johnson is the best player in the division. However, this is nit picking. When O'Neil is fit, we are a better team.
Here is a question though, how can a midfield unit including two of the better players in the division be ripped apart by West Brom and beaten by Leicester? The answer is Julio Arca.
Arca is a great guy, and technically a very gifted footballer, but he is not up to the physical battle of centre midfield.
His best days were at left wing. He spent his early days as a left-back in the Boro side as he could not unseat Downing. How and when he became a natural centre midfielder is a mystery to me. He is soft.
Experience gets him by now and again but compare his 90 minute work rate to that of O'Neil, Digard, even Shawky or Josh Walker, and it does not stand up.
We have not played many games without him but when he did not start, we won two, drew one and didn't concede.
He has started eight games this season and we have won three, drawn one and lost four, conceding 14 goals in the process.
He may or may not be the reason, but I personally would like to see some more games without him.
Tough tackling Icelandic international Brynjar Gannarsson holds together the Reading midfield. He also has experience of Premier League promotion campaigns, having been around the last time Reading won promotion from the Championship.
Jobi McAnuff has some Premier League experience, and Brian Howard made a name for himself during Barnsley's famous FA Cup run a couple of seasons back.
Mali international Jimmy Kebe scored last week and is rated highly as an attacking threat.
Edge: Boro. O'Neil and Johnson are among the best the division has to offer.
Boro Attack v Reading Defence
I am unsure as to Folan's status but I believe Boro have two outstanding crossers of the ball and I am looking forward to seeing the dynamic of a big powerful forward up there. Until then, I still believe the pace in any formula of Aliadiere, Emnes and Lita can get goals.
Reading's back four is anchored by another Icelandic international in Ivar Ingimarsson. Incidentally, there are some massive Scrabble scores in this team! Bet the team sheet makes hard 'Reading'.
Edge: Boro. Reading are not outstanding in this department and their Premier League back four of a couple of years back have all moved on.
Fans
A large amount of frustration must exist. A former Premier League club that is not living up to the expectation of bouncing back to the Premier League immediately... and the Boro fans are not too happy either!
Hopefully the home fans can be silenced by a Boro performance, but this is a long trip and Reaidng could provide a hostile environment.
However, one thing that Boro fans who openly boo at games need to bear in mind is what Gareth Southgate said in the previously mentioned Daily Mail article: "the players don't understand it because we are fourth. They're saying 'Great, we're away from home on Saturday.' People have to take that on board."
Whatever your opinion of the performance, he is right. What effect will a hostile home atmosphere have on players like Johnson, Wheater, and O'Neil when the transfer window reopens? The answer could be that it pushes them out of the exit door, looking for a fresh start elsewhere.
We all have frustrations and are all entitled to vent, but during games we should back the team or we may make it worse!
Edge: Reading. They have the home crowd and the Boro fans are likely to go hostile after a bad start to any game at the moment.
Prediction
DRAW. We need a win badly, but Reading are good and I am not convinced we can get it.
