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Picture – Manchester United's Confirmed XI vs Reading

Zaryab — Sat, 07 Jan 2017 11:46:48 +0000

Manchester United face Reading in the early kick off game today to start their FA Cup campaign.
Manager Jose Mourinho has made no fewer than 9 changes in the starting XI that defeated West Ham United in the last game.
Only the likes of Michael Carrick and Marcos Rojo have retained their starting places. Captain Wayne Rooney has recovered from his injury and starts in the attack today.
Ashley Young is back as well and he will be making his 150th appearance for the Red Devils.
Here is Manchester United’s confirmed XI vs Reading.

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Stars Return – Man Utd's Strongest Possible 4-2-3-1 XI vs Reading

Marek — Fri, 06 Jan 2017 11:47:49 +0000

Manchester United have won their last six games in the Premier League (last seven in all competitions) and will kick start their FA Cup campaign against Reading tomorrow.
The Red Devils should be considered favorites to beat the Championship side at Old Trafford but they should not take Reading lightly.
Under the management of former Man United defender Jaap Stam, Reading are performing pretty well. Currently, they are 3rd in the league after 24 fixtures.
As far as Man United’s team news is concerned, at the moment 3 players in the form of James Wilson, Luke Shaw and captain Wayne Rooney are out injured.
Manager Jose Mourinho should make a few changes in the starting XI that defeated West Ham United in the last league game.
Expect young Marcus Rashford to start as the lone center forward up front for the Red Devils. Bastian Schweinsteiger may return to the starting lineup as well.
Sergio Romero should replace De Gea in goal and the likes of Darmian and Fosu-Mensah may start as well.
Here is Man United’s strongest possible 4-2-3-1 XI vs Reading

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8 Changes – Wenger's Probable 4-2-3-1 XI for Arsenal vs Reading

Zaryab — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 19:15:17 +0000

Arsenal’s brilliant winning run came to an end yesterday as Middlesbrough fought hard to earn a point at the Emirates.
The Gunners will be looking to get back to winning ways immediately when they face Reading in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.
As far as the team news is concerned, expect manager Arsene Wenger to make no fewer than eight changes in the starting lineup that featured vs Boro on Saturday.
Ospina should replace Cech in goal. The likes of Gabriel, Gibbs, Holding and Maitland-Niles may start in the defense in front of the Colombian shot stopper.
As far as the midfield is concerned, Cazorla (injured) and Xhaka (suspended) are out and Elneny and Coquelin will probably retain their starting places.
Chamberlain, Iwobi and Reine-Adelaide should start in the attack behind lone forward Lucas Perez. Olivier Giroud is expected to return as well but he will likely start on the bench.

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Star Shines – Arsenal Player Ratings vs Reading

Arsenalogy — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 05:00:15 +0000

Arsenal were clear favorites going in to FA Cup semi final against Reading yesterday but Gunners survived real scare to qualify for the final.
Alexis Sanchez proved to be the hero once again for the North Londoners as his brace helped them beat Reading.
McCleary scored the only goal from Reading and the minnows did miss crucial chances to earn the spot in the final as well. The championship fought right till the end and troubled Arsenal but in the end quality of Sanchez helped Gunners.
Arsenal have dominated teams lately but it was not the case in the semi final. Ozil and Alexis were the better players in attack for the Gunners. Welbeck did not perform well and even in form Giroud was not sharp in front of goal.
Arsenal’s defense looked shaky and must improve if they are to retain the FA Cup crown. Here are Arsenal player ratings vs Reading.

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CONFIRMED – Arsenal Starting XI Formation vs Reading

Arsenalogy — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 15:35:39 +0000

Reigning champions face Arsenal today in the first FA Cup semi final and Gunners are favorites to go through.
Both set of supporters will still have that famous league cup game in their minds when Arsenal came from 4-0 down to beat Reading 5-7 after Extra Time.
Gunner supporters will hope they will not have to deal with any scare this time around given they are in brilliant form.
Not to forget, Arsene Wenger’s men are on an eight game winning run in the Premier League and are currently the most in form side in the country.
Even after Arsenal’s great form, Chelsea are in the driving seat to win the league title and once again Gunners may need the FA Cup trophy to finish the season with a silverware.
Wenger has started a strong side keeping in mind the importance of this fixture. Here is Arsenal’s confirmed starting XI formation versus Reading.

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Stars Return – Arsenal's Strongest XI to Face Reading

Arsenalogy — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 05:54:03 +0000

Having won eight straight games in the Barclays premier league, it will be fair to say that Arsenal are overwhelming favorites to beat Reading and qualify for FA Cup final yet again.
The reigning champions are in unstoppable form since the turn of the year and only a disaster performance can lead to their exit from the cup competition.
As far as the team news is concerned, the only player who might not be available for selection is England international Alex Oxlade Chamberlain as he is still out injured.
First team stars like captain Arteta and summer signing from Newcastle Debuchy may as well be included in the squad after returning from long term injuries but whether they will start or not, we shall see.
It is the semi final hence Arsenal will start the strongest side possible but may rest a few for the all important game against Chelsea as well.
Gibbs and Chambers may replace Monreal and Bellerin at full back positions, Gabriel may start in place of Mertesacker. Szczesny to start in goal in place of Ospina.

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Liverpool Need a Number 9? Still Too Reliant on Suarez?

Gooty — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:07:26 +0000

Another week, another excuse for Liverpool as once again the Reds absolutely dominated the opposition but only managed to gain a single point. Last week that happened against West Ham, this time it was versus Reading.
Sam Allardyce’s men were brilliant in defense to deny the reds any clear cut goal scoring opportunity last week. Still Liverpool did have numerous decent chances but failed to score. Today the merseysiders were up against a relegation threatened team and made no less than 15 odd shots on target and again failed to score.
The questions? Do Liverpool badly need a new number 9? Are they still too reliant on Luis Suarez?
Since the turn of the year Liverpool scored for fun, but they have struggled to find the net in their last four league outings. Why is that so?
The fact that Luis Suarez has not scored a single goal in the last four league fixtures says a lot. Not only that, the Uruguayan over all game has not been as per his usual standards and thus it all influences the team as there is no doubt that he makes Liverpool tick. The result, reds have won only once in the last 4 outings.
Today, despite the one that was cleared on the line, Luis Suarez missed chances from close range, the sort of chances that he was scoring easily not so long ago.
Yes Alex Mccarty was in super form. Some of his saves were unbelievable, particularly the one from Suarez where he not only managed to save the venomous shot but also held it firm even though the strike was blasted from just 7 odd yards.
Having said that, the fact the ball was near the goalie means that all the shots were savable. Whenever the reds got a scoring opportunity, they opted to smash the ball and were not clinical enough. The times Liverpool tried to place the ball, they did beat the goalie but also beat the goal as well.
Liverpool will probably look to off load Andy Carroll once his loan expires at the end of the season but perhaps the merseysiders do need a new number 9. Suarez is the top scorer in the English league. However when he is not on song, Liverpool goal scoring stats do not look so good and perhaps they need someone clinical enough to partner him, to take some of his burden.
This is not the first time that we are talking about Liverpool dominating proceedings and failing to finish teams off. The same happened last season under the management of Kenny Dalglish as well. That is one of the main aspects that hold Liverpool back when it comes to competing with the very best. The Reds must find consistency and finish weaker oppositions if they are to get back in the Champions League places and competing for top prizes any sooner.
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The Importance of Planning the Next Manager

Fanatic — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:21:03 +0000

For most people with an interest in football and the Premiership, the relegation battle is great entertainment. With one unexpected result, a team can seemingly lift themselves to safety whereas a poor run of form can take you from mid-table security to fighting for your life.
As many as nine clubs can feasibly get relegated this season and the occupant of 18th place seems to change every week. The only people not enjoying this situation are the people affiliated with the involved clubs; especially the managers and the owners. With the threat of relegation looming, panic sets in and the people with the power feel the need to make a change. A change of managers is now commonplace in football, but doing it well and doing it badly can often be the difference between success and failure.
Take Brian McDermott at Reading, with relegation looming more and more as the team struggled to get out of the bottom three, the owner Anton Zingarevich decided to sack him. There were no particular problems in the dressing room, squad unity seemed high and the players were fully behind their boss. However the threat of relegation was too much and Zingarevich looked to have taken a leaf out of another Russian owner’s book; sack the manager. Similarly to Roman Abramovich, there was no successor lined up to take the job. McDermott wasn’t sacked because they believed there was a better candidate, it was the only action that the owner could take to change the fortunes of the team.
As I was keen to stress in an earlier article, the introduction of the transfer window has had an adverse effect on the tenure of managers. With there being times of the season where you cannot sign a new player, a change of manager is the only real option available to alter a poor run of form. I strongly believe that if there was no transfer window in place, Reading would be looking to sign more players rather take the action that they did.
However while this may be the case, there is no excuse for not having another manager lined up to take the job. With only a handful of games to go until the end of the season you are left with no margin for error; having the coaches run training sessions with no idea of a managers tactics or preferred playing style does not benefit for the team at all. With fifteen days between the sacking of a manager and the hiring of a replacement, Reading did themselves no favours at all. They also suffered from not having a high profile, successful manager available. If they had prepared properly, they could have approached many managers and asked if they were interested in the job, while McDermott was still their manager.
By doing this, they would have discovered that there are few options available, or they would have realised that there are no better managers available and thus the best option is to stick with the current man. By not doing this, they were left without a manager and without a possible replacement. Thus, they made what could be described as a ‘sideways’ appointment in Nigel Adkins; a manager with no greater credentials than McDermott and viewed as at an equal level. Without preparing for the departure of their manager, Reading were forced to wait for a successor; who turned out to be no better than the man he was replacing!
Ironically if you want an example of how a change of manager is executed properly, you have to look at Adkins’ sacking at Southampton. He was sacked and replaced by Mauricio Pochettino on the same day; the club had clearly done their work on identifying a replacement and having him ready to take over as soon as he was needed. The result? Well despite the great amount of criticism that came Southampton’s way for replacing the man who brought them successive promotions with someone who couldn’t even speak English, their fortunes have improved.
When Adkins was sacked, Southampton sat 15^th in the table; they’re now 11^th. This is what happens when you properly identify a replacement, take time to pick the right person and execute the change of managers quickly; your fortunes improve. If you sack a manager without any idea of a replacement, you waste time and pick a candidate that isn’t an improvement. I see it as no coincidence that Southampton look like surviving while Reading appear doomed to relegation.
If only Reading had looked at another club in recent memory that had sacked a successful and popular manager in the latter stages of the season without any plan for a replacement. In February last year, Wolverhampton Wanderers sacked Mick McCarthy. Without another manager to come in and take over, they promoted the assistant coach eleven days later. The result? Instability and a general failure; they were relegated and currently sit 20^th in the Championship, facing the great possibility of back-to-back relegations.
Why is it that we’re seeing these managerial changes more and more? We have had the transfer window for over a decade now, but the sacking of managers is at an all-time high. The other factor seems to be money. With the Premiership getting greater and greater TV deals, staying in the league and avoiding relegation is becoming a matter of tens of millions of pounds; while relegation brings parachute payments they don’t measure up to the cash received for staying in the league. The possibility of losing this money could send the owners into a panic and force them into making the decisions that have been made recently. Love it or hate it, it’s likely that this policy is here to stay.
This article wasn’t intended to criticise clubs for changing managers this late in the season, my intention is to point out that some clubs don’t plan a replacement when they sack their managers; Reading and Wolves being the best recent examples. When this happens, the result on the team is a negative one; worse performances and thus relegation occurs. However when the change is planned properly, when the next manager is well scouted and sufficient thought has been given to who he will be, the club can benefit and can be lifted away from danger. Southampton certainly look better off with Pochettino than they did with Adkins. As unethical and harsh as it may sound, decide upon your new manager before sacking the current one.
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A Fight To The Bitter End

andy — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:44:16 +0000

There is just over one month left of the Premier League season, and the relegation battle continues to heat up and take all sorts of twists and turns. 3 teams will suffer relegation to the Championship.
If that wasn’t bad enough, now thanks to Sky and BT, they will also miss out on the millions of pounds that will come from the Premier Leagues new TV deal that kicks in this summer.
Already it is looking highly likely that 2 of those 3 teams will be Reading and Queens Park Rangers. The two southern based sides are not completely dead and buried, but continue to struggle in keeping up with the points totals of the teams above them. At the moment the final relegation spot is held by Wigan Athletic who have a game in hand on most of the sides above them and are also still going strong in the FA Cup.
What makes this battle to stay up even more interesting is that sides such as Stoke City and Sunderland who were looking a lot more comfortable one month ago are now in real danger of being dragged into the drop zone. Some people might disagree with me on this, but having looked at the remaining fixtures of all the teams in the Premier League, I would not rule out any of the teams in the lower half of the table being dragged further into relegation trouble before the season reaches its climax in May.
Having watched the Premier League for many years, I know as well as the next person how unpredictable and exciting this league can get. Given that the gap between 11th placed Southampton and 18th placed Wigan is just 6 points, to rule anyone in between and including those sides out of trouble would be absurd. For a team currently outside the bottom 3, all it takes is a loss in their next match, a win for the teams around and below them, an injury or suspension to a key player and they are in even deeper trouble than before. It makes for excellent entertainment for the neutrals such as myself, but does no favours to the nervous systems of the supporters whose clubs league future is in jeopardy.
I don’t doubt that every team will give their all for every remaining game to ensure a happy finish to the season. The toughest games will be against those chasing a top 4 finish and fellow relegation candidates. There is a chance that the best way for teams to pick up points could come from facing the teams in the top half of the table that will most likely just be playing for pride.
As we’ve seen in the past, teams can often go into summer holiday mode early when a European place is unachievable and there is no threat of relegation. But at the same time as this is one of the best leagues in the world, the standard will not be allowed to drop too much and the teams in trouble will still have to work their socks off to get the points needed to guarantee safe passage into next seasons Premier League.
This time last season, things at the bottom were completely different, the gap between 18th and 11th was a whopping 14 points, and while the battle to stay up lasted all the way until the final day of the season last year, it was overshadowed mainly by the dramatic way Manchester City won the Premier League title that day as well.
This time with the trophy looking most likely to go to Manchester United before the final day given the 12 point gap between them and City at the moment, more attention should then go to the bottom half of the table on the final day of the season, and if come that all important day on May 19th the majority of the teams in the bottom half are still fighting to stay up, it is going to make for another incredible end to the Premier League season.
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Brian McDermott Sacked – A Justifiable Decision?

andy — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:06:50 +0000

Yesterday afternoon, Reading sacked their manager Brian McDermott with the club sitting second bottom of the Premier League 4 points from safety with only 9 games to go.
The big questions that will be asked are, has the right decision been made? Has this decision been made at the wrong time of the season? And who should be his replacement?
McDermott first joined the Royals in 2000 as their chief scout, but got his big breakthrough in December 2009 taking on the role of caretaker manager after the departure of now Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers but was given the job on a full-time basis a month later.
He led the team to a 9th place finish that year and managed to get them to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The next season was to be more successful as Reading reached the quarter-finals of the cup again and finished 5th in the league guaranteeing a play-off spot. The knocked out Cardiff City in the semi-finals but were beaten 4-2 in the final at Wembley by Swansea City. That disappointment spurred McDermott and his side on to do even better next season, and they did just that by finishing top of The Championship and securing a place in the Premier League for this season.
The toughest challenge of his managerial career without a doubt has been trying to keep his side up this season and unfortunately given that recent results have gone against them, he won’t get to see the job through till the end as owner Anton Zingarevich has decided that the time is now right for a change. I must admit I thought even if it was going to go down right till the last day of the season, I believed McDermott would have remained in charge for the remaining games and that a decision would have been made about his future when the clubs fate had already been decided.
This decision certainly shows the changes that can happen in a club in such a short space of time. McDermott won the Manager of the Month award for January and looked to have started Reading off on the road to revival with the new found habit of taking points from matches in the last 10 minutes of the game. But having lost their last 4 Premier League matches, they still find themselves in deep trouble. The higher power at the Madjeski Stadium obviously felt that with less than 10 games to go, McDermott had run his course but somebody else can still come in and turn the grim situation around for them.
I must say for what he achieved for them and given that they are only 4 points away from 17th placed Aston Villa, Brian McDermott deserved to keep the managers’ job at least until the end of the season. If Reading had gone down, you could maybe then understand the decision to let him go and allow somebody else the chance to take them back up, but given that we’re now almost in the middle of March the timing of this decision isn’t in their favour. The recent home losses against Villa and Wigan Athletic would appear to have sealed his fate. Until a new manager is appointed, newly appointed caretaker manager Eamonn Dolan has his work cut out for him as he and the Reading team face a trip to league leaders Manchester United on Saturday. After that they face another tough test travelling to the Emirates to face Arsenal, but as that game doesn’t fall till the end of the month due to the upcoming International break, Reading will have hopefully found a new manager by then to prepare the team for the battle ahead.
In recent seasons, whenever a manager has been removed from a relegation-threatened club after January, it has almost always ended in relegation. The only exception so far has been when Roy Hodgson replaced Roberto Di Matteo at West Bromwich Albion in February 2011 and managed to keep them in the Premier League that season. The most recent example of a failure was last season when Wolverhampton Wanderers sacked Mick McCarthy in February last year and replaced him with his assistant manager Terry Connor until the end of the season. Wolves failed to win another game that season when Connor came in and their relegation was confirmed in mid-April. So there is proof that survival can be achieved during a second half of the season change in management, but through no shortage of hard work and determination. If the new manager can’t get his players to fight and give 100% in these last remaining games, their team is destined for the drop.
Having looked at Readings last 9 games, I could see them getting at least 8 points from them. But given how tight it is at the bottom just now, it might not be enough to keep them up. When they do hire a new manager, it is going to have to be someone that has experienced this type of situation before and knows how to deal with it. For me, two names instantly jump to my mind that fall into that category, Alan Curbishley and Nigel Adkins. Curbishley comfortably kept Charlton Athletic in the Premier League for many seasons, but will probably be best remembered for when he kept West Ham United up on the final day of the season in 2007. The only problem people might have with Curbishley’s appointment is that he’s been out of work for so long and they may prefer someone more fresh. That is where Adkins might fit the bill. He has only been out of work since January and while he might not have anywhere near same kind of Premier League experience that Curbishley has, he does know how to keep an underdog in a tough league having kept Scunthorpe United in the Championship in 2010 before moving to Southampton the season after.
Whoever Reading decide to give the job to, they should look to make a quick appointment so that the new manager can spend enough time with his new team getting to know them and instructing them on how they can achieve survival. I look forward to seeing who takes on the new role and anticipate even more now the upcoming ending to another exciting Premier League season.
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