LATEST NEWS ON 'The Royals'
September 2006
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  • 30th September 2006 - Hammers Preview

    • Alan Pardew admits West Ham are struggling to reinvent themselves this season as the need to hit upon a successful new formula grows more urgent by the week.

    The Hammers have now gone seven matches without a win since the opening-day victory over Charlton and they were dumped out of the UEFA Cup by Palermo on Thursday. Clubs who were surprised by the Hammers` high-tempo, attacking brand of football employed with such success last season have now wised up and are stopping it at source.

    Pardew has been desperately hunting for a solution. He has rotated players and switched systems from his preferred 4-4-2 system to 5-3-2 and 4-3-3, but without success.

    West Ham were installed as one of the favourites to win the UEFA Cup following the arrival of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano but they have not won since the Argentinians signed.

    "Teams are coming to stop our strengths and now we have to add another string to our bow to get around these issues," said Pardew. "People have been telling me this is because a lot of players are not in form but, when I analysed it, it's because some players have no options. We need to give players more options on the ball, expand the pitch and use our strengths, which is our pace and power. We're not doing that at the moment."

    Pardew has not been helped by injuries. Last season, the West Ham first-team barely changed. This year Pardew has had to roll with the punches. Both the right-backs he recruited in the summer have been injured, as is centre-half Anton Ferdinand and striker Dean Ashton. United States international Jonathan Spector, who made his Hammers debut on Thursday, said: "It has been difficult because we've had so many injuries within the team. I don't think we've had the same line-up for two games in a row. It's disappointing to be knocked out of the UEFA Cup at this early stage although we lost against a very good side. We played well in the first half and we were on top of the game and that's how we have to play in the future and eventually the ball will go in."

    Pardew comes up against former club Reading on Sunday and, after four defeats on the spin, victory is vital.

    Meanwhile, Reading skipper Graeme Murty insists he and his team-mates have only one point to prove to Alan Pardew when they take on West Ham. In the eyes of some fans, Pardew went from hero to villain at the Madejski Stadium in the space of a few days in the autumn of 2003 when he decided to leave the Royals to succeed Glenn Roeder at Upton Park. However, Murty is keen to simply show his former boss that the players he left behind, who still form the bulk of Steve Coppell's side, have also significantly furthered their own careers.

    He said: "I have a lot of regard for Pards and I would like to go out there and show him how well I am doing because he had a big effect on me when I was here. He had a great deal of say in my development and I would like to show him how well I am doing. Whenever we see each other I give him a bit of banter and he gives me some stick back, which is always fun. The fans couldn't understand why he wanted to leave and from a players' point of view it was disappointing because we were going really well. But he was honest with us from day one and told us what he wanted to do and what he wanted to achieve. We all said to him `good luck, hope you do well but we will give you loads of grief when you come back.' Obviously the fans would as well, that was always going to happen, but we also knew he wanted to test himself and West Ham at that time was a bigger stage for him, a bigger club with a bigger fan base. Our point now is that we are getting there. We have got the capacity now to get a bigger fan base, the chairman certainly wants a bigger stadium and we can build this club up. So it is not about proving Pardew wrong per se, it is about building us up."

    The Scotland defender admits he is worried a hamstring problem could rule him out of Sunday's game and make him a major doubt for his nation's Euro 2008 double header with France and Ukraine next month. He added: "It is touch and go at the moment. I am going to wait and see, give it a real blast today and if it breaks down then we will know."

    Victory would be Reading's first at Upton Park.

    West Ham United V Reading
    Top Lge Scorers Goals Sunday 1/10 @2pm Top Lge Scorers Goals
    Zamora 5 Referee: Uriah Rennie (South Yorkshire) Doyle 3
    Cole 1 Games: 8   Yellows: 25   Reds: 2 Sidwell 1
    Last 4 Meetings Lita 1
    12/03/2005 Reading 3 1 West Ham Kitson 1
      10/08/2004 West Ham 1 0 Reading Ingimarsson 1
    Lge Discipline       03/04/2004 Reading 2 0 West Ham Lge Discipline      
    Total Fouls 73 13/09/2003 West Ham 1 0 Reading Total Fouls 46
    Yellows 7 Yellows 5
    Reds 0 Head to Head Reds 1
    Lge Goal details:   West Ham Draws Reading Lge Goal details:    
    For 6 League 2 0 2 For 8
    Against 9 FA Cup 0 0 0 Against 7
    Ave scored per game 1.00 League Cup 0 1 0 Ave scored per game 1.33
    Shots / Goals  53/6 Total 2 1 2 Shots / Goals  46/8
    Left Foot 2 Left Foot 5
    Right Foot 4 Games Since Right Foot 1
    Headers 0 5 a win 1 Headers 2
    0 - 10 mins 0 2 home win 1 0 - 10 mins 2
    11 - 20 mins 1 3 away win 0 11 - 20 mins 0
    21 - 30 mins 0 0 a defeat 3 21 - 30 mins 2
    31 - 40 mins 0 0 home defeat 25 31 - 40 mins 0
    41 - 50 mins 0 0 away defeat 1 41 - 50 mins 2
    51 - 60 mins 2 2 a score draw 0 51 - 60 mins 1
    61 - 70 mins 2 12 a no score draw 14 61 - 70 mins 0
    71 - 80 mins 0 0 conceding a goal 0 71 - 80 mins 0
    81 - 90 mins 1 2 scoring a goal 0 81 - 90 mins 0
    Current Form (last 3 games - all competitions)
    28/09/2006 Palermo Away Lost  0:3   23/09/2006 ManUtd Home Drew  1:1
    23/09/2006 ManCity Away Lost  0:2   19/09/2006 Darlington Home Drew  3:3
    17/09/2006 Newcastle Home Lost  0:2   16/09/2006 SheffieldUtd Away Won  2:1


  • 23rd September 2006 - Royals Hold United

    • Cristiano Ronaldo's second half equaliser enabled Manchester United to avoid suffering defeat in their first ever league clash with Reading.

    United dominated most of the evening's proceedings but found themselves trailing to Kevin Doyle's 48th-minute penalty. Chances came and went for Sir Alex Ferguson's side until Ronaldo took matters into his own hands in the 73rd minute, netting a memorable solo equaliser. The Portugal winger was booed constantly by the home fans but was undeniably the game's most impressive performer.

    However, the result meant United had missed a chance to climb to the top of the Premiership, ahead of Chelsea. United had begun with Wayne Rooney as their only recognised player up front following Louis Saha's hamstring injury and the England man tested home goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann within two minutes. The American fumbled his low shot and it needed Royals captain Graeme Murty to hack clear before Kieran Richardson could pounce.

    Hahnemann did better with a low drive from Ronaldo but fumbled a free-kick from the same player and was nowhere when a cross from the same man from the left flashed across goal, with Scholes failing to convert from unmissable range only by a matter of millimetres.

    Reading chances had been harder to come by with Leroy Lita coming close early on. The best of the first half fell to Doyle in the 18th minute when a deflection put him in on goal - but he could not beat Edwin van der Sar from five yards. The Dutchman made a good save low down at his near post to deny Seol Ki-Hyeon, who was posing the fit-again Gabriel Heinze real problems down the right flank, with the Argentinian back in the United side for the first time in a year.

    Reading were perhaps relieved to go in at the break on level terms but within three minutes of the restart they were ahead through Doyle's penalty. Gary Neville was the man adjudged to have been at fault as a Murty cross bounced in the box and off the England defender's arm - the intent did not look that obvious but referee Peter Walton was quick to point to the spot.

    Up stepped Doyle, who had seen a spot-kick saved in a Carling Cup shoot-out with lowly Darlington in midweek. Van der Sar almost kept this one out, guessing correctly, but the ball squirmed in under a glove.

    United responded to the setback by once again applying pressure but Kieran Richardson fluffed a great chance by miskicking with the goal in his sights after Ronaldo had laid the ball back.

    Richardson was replaced by Saha before the hour mark and with 20 minutes remaining Ole Solskjaer and John O'Shea had joined him on the pitch, at the expense of Heinze and Darren Fletcher.

    An equaliser was coming and Ronaldo provided it himself with a fine solo effort in the 73rd minute, cutting in from the left and evading the back-tracking Murty before firing across Hahnemann and into the net. It was all United after that but Reading hung on gratefully for a point.

    Reading boss Steve Coppell declared himself 'half-pleased' with the 1-1 draw against Manchester United at the Madejski Stadium. Kevin Doyle opened the scoring early in the second half from the penalty spot and the hosts held on until Cristiano Ronaldo levelled with a powerful drive. Coppell told Sky PremPlus: "The way the game developed I thought it was one of those days when it was going to go our way, but there was a piece of individual skill and a great finish (from Ronaldo). So we're half-pleased with the point given how the game went, thinking what might have been. It's always an uphill task against teams of this quality but I have to give my players a round of applause for their efforts."

    Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insisted failure to win at newly-promoted Reading was not cause for a shame. A 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium means the Red Devils have now dropped five of their last six points following last Sunday's 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal. But Ferguson insisted: "Last Sunday was a disappointing performance but not today."

    Reading took the lead early in the second half through Kevin Doyle's penalty before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a fine solo equaliser with 16 minutes remaining. The penalty award had been against Gary Neville, with the England defender having been adjudged to have used an arm as a cross from the right bounced in the box. Ferguson said: "I haven't seen it so I couldn't judge but it was a big decision."

    Wayne Rooney again failed to hit the net but his manager was prepared to defend his performance. He said: "You have got to remember that was only his sixth game in six months."

    Royals boss Steve Coppell, the former Manchester United winger who masterminded the club's rise to the top-flight for the first time in its history, said: "We had nothing to lose from today. I was thinking before the game that whatever happens we couldn't lose and to get a point is a small gift as well so we have got to be pleased with it. But I have said to the players we don't want the highlight of our season to be a Saturday evening in September. We have got a long way to go and we can't pat ourselves on the back."

    Coppell admitted he had even been a little disappointed by the result. He said: "Having got our noses in front it looked as if it was going to be one of those days where we might have nicked all three. At the end of it we will probably wake up tomorrow morning and think it was a good point but it was also a good opportunity to have gone on. They are obviously a fabulous footballing outfit with tremendous individuals and we had stifled them very well - to a certain extent at a cost to ourselves. It looked a stalemate for periods, the penalty gave us impetus and the goal certainly gave them impetus."



  • 23rd September 2006 - Anfield Cup Trip

    • Reading have been drawn away to Liverpool in the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup, with the tie to be played week commencing 23rd October. It means that, having never met Liverpool before in any competition in Reading's 135 year history, the Royals now face two trips to Anfield in the space of 10 days. The full draw is as follows:

    Wycombe v Doncaster
    Sheffield United v Birmingham
    Leicester v Aston Villa
    Watford v Hull
    Leeds v Southend
    Chesterfield v West Ham
    Notts County v Southampton
    Newcastle v Portsmouth
    Charlton v Bolton
    Liverpool v Reading
    West Brom v Arsenal
    Port Vale v Norwich
    Everton v Luton
    MK Dons v Tottenham
    Crewe v Manchester United
    Blackburn v Chelsea

  • 23rd September 2006 - Red Devils Preview

    • Reading manager Steve Coppell knows his players will be living the dream when they run out against Manchester United. The Royals have already made an impressive start to their first Premiership campaign, climbing to sixth on the back of wins against Middlesbrough, Manchester City and Sheffield United. But the visit of Sir Alex Ferguson and his world-class squad to the Madejski Stadium represents by far and away their toughest task yet.

    Coppell was confident his starting line-up, which boasts not a single player with previous top-flight experience, would possess enough bottle to rise to the occasion. He said: "It was always the chairman's dream to host Manchester United in a league game and we have got to make sure the dream doesn't evaporate. We have to make sure we are at the top of our game because undoubtedly if we don't play well we will be beaten. But this game is not going to decide our Premiership future because the chances are Manchester United will beat most teams. It is not a critical factor in our longevity in this division. So in a way that will make us more carefree. It is our first game against one of the acknowledged big boys so we will play our own game and see what happens. And that is what the players want to do. We have our particular style and we would like to continue that way. We do realise we might have to temper it as the season progresses depending on the opposition and injuries but certainly at the moment we would like to put our heads in the sand and do our own thing."

    The game, which kicks off at 5.15pm, will be extra special for Coppell as he spent almost a decade at Old Trafford as a player before injury cut short a career that had seen him represent his country in the 1982 World Cup. A managerial career that began at Crystal Palace followed and it was during Coppell's second spell at Selhurst Park that he last came up against the Red Devils.

    He said: "The last time I sent out a team against him was at Palace probably eight or nine years ago. That was certainly the last time I went to Old Trafford. I can't remember the result. I presume we were beaten. But the season when we played Manchester United in the FA Cup final we played them in the league over the Christmas period and beat them 2-1 so I have won at Old Trafford."

    Striker Dave Kitson remains sidelined by a knee injury, with the club now having referred him to a specialist in Leicester who had successfully treated a similar injury previously.

    Michael Carrick has called on Manchester United to hit the winning trail again as the Premiership title race begins to take shape. The Red Devils remain in second spot, despite having their 100% start to the season ended by Arsenal last weekend. However, after looking down on their main rivals from a position of comfort seven days ago, suddenly the situation is looking much tighter.

    Ahead of Chelsea on goal difference only, United have seen their advantage over Liverpool trimmed to just five points, while the Gunners lie seven adrift but still have a game in hand. Having heard all about the difficulties of playing catch-up from team-mates who have failed to do it over the past three seasons, Carrick has no wish to endure a similar experience. And the £18.6million midfielder is looking for a win over newly-promoted Reading to ensure the Old Trafford outfit remain on track to reclaim the championship crown.

    "It was important to start well," he told MUTV. "We were disappointed to lose against Arsenal because it was such a huge game but even so, we have given ourselves a platform and we are definitely in the mix. It is vital we do not slip because then we have to start chasing other teams and it becomes difficult. The good thing is we are right in there now and the lads are confident we can win a lot more games. It has to be maximum points all the way now because we need to put some pressure on."

    After having the start of his United career delayed by an ankle injury picked up during the ill-fated pre-season tournament in Amsterdam, Carrick is slowly easing his way into life at Old Trafford. His omission from Sir Alex Ferguson's starting line-up for the Gunners clash was a major surprise, although the United boss justified his decision by claiming it would have been asking a lot of Carrick to play three full games in a week after missing such a large chunk of pre-season work.

    "It was frustrating to be injured so soon when you are wanting to make an impression," he said. "It was a bit of setback, although I didn't miss too many games in the end and I am pleased to be back now."

    Carrick is set to be the major beneficiary of Owen Hargreaves' broken leg when Steve McClaren names his England side to face Macedonia and Croatia in next month's Euro 2008 qualifying double-header. The 25-year-old should also earn a United recall at the Madejski Stadium this weekend, although with Ferguson also looking ahead to Tuesday's Champions League trip to Benfica, nothing should be taken for granted.

    Patrice Evra could replace Mikael Silvestre, who is doubtful after limping out of the Arsenal defeat with a foot injury, while Nemanja Vidic will be hoping for a starting spot after seeing Rio Ferdinand's central defensive partnership with Wes Brown suffer a dip in form.

    After starting the season so impressively, United have slipped markedly as a unit over the past couple of weeks, with Wayne Rooney a particular disappointment. Carrick though remains unconcerned and insists there is plenty more to come from his team.

    "We have played ever so well in a couple of matches but we have not really hit top form yet," he said. "In the scheme of things, there is a lot to look forward to. We are up there and challenging and we know there is more to come yet."

    Reading V Manchester United
    Top Lge Scorers Goals Saturday 23/9 @ 5:15pm Top Lge Scorers Goals
    Doyle 2 Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire) Giggs 2
    Sidwell 1 Games: 6   Yellows: 13   Reds: 1 Rooney 2
    Lita 1 Last 4 Meetings Saha 2
    Kitson 1 27/01/1996 Reading 0 3 Man Utd Fletcher 1
    Ingimarsson 1 12/01/1955 Man Utd 4 1 Reading Pearce 1
    Lge Discipline       08/01/1955 Reading 1 1 Man Utd Lge Discipline      
    Total Fouls 40 16/01/1937 Man Utd 1 0 Reading Total Fouls 63
    Yellows 5 Yellows 7
    Reds 1 Head to Head Reds 0
    Lge Goal details:     Reading Draws ManUtd Lge Goal details:    
    For 7 League 0 0 0 For 11
    Against 6 FA Cup 1 4 5 Against 3
    Ave scored per game 1.40 League Cup 0 0 0 Ave scored per game 2.20
    Shots / Goals  43/7 Total 1 4 5 Shots / Goals  82/11
    Left Foot 5 Left Foot 2
    Right Foot 0 Games Since Right Foot 7
    Headers 2 0 a win 0 Headers 2
    0 - 10 mins 2 0 home win 1 0 - 10 mins 2
    11 - 20 mins 0 0 away win 0 11 - 20 mins 4
    21 - 30 mins 2 2 a defeat 0 21 - 30 mins 0
    31 - 40 mins 0 2 home defeat 0 31 - 40 mins 0
    41 - 50 mins 2 1 away defeat 2 41 - 50 mins 1
    51 - 60 mins 1 5 a score draw 6 51 - 60 mins 1
    61 - 70 mins 0 5 a no score draw 6 61 - 70 mins 1
    71 - 80 mins 0 0 conceding a goal 0 71 - 80 mins 1
    81 - 90 mins 0 0 scoring a goal 1 81 - 90 mins 1
    Current Form (last 3 games - all competitions)
    19/09/2006 Darlington Home Drew  3:3   17/09/2006 Arsenal Home Lost  0:1
    16/09/2006 SheffUtd Away Won  2:1   13/09/2006 Celtic Home Won  3:2
    11/09/2006 ManCity Home Won  1:0   09/09/2006 Tottenham Home Won  1:0


  • 20th September 2006 - How Funny Was That?

    • Last night's Carling Cup tie was one of the most amusing games I have seen for decades. But behind the laughter must be serious concerns as to the Royals strenght in depth - or rather the lack of it. Whilst it could be expected that there would be little understanding of each other's play considering many had not played together before, the distinct lack of quality was incredible to see. The entire back four were a complete shambles and at times their efforts were cringeworthy. It really was embarassing and many in the 10,000 crowd were simply laughing in disbelief.

    One 'player' in particular stood out from the rest - John Halls. His performance was possibly one of the worst I have ever witnessed by a Reading player. I have not been impressed by Halls since he arrived from Stoke for what looks like an astonishing fee of £250,000. In just about every game I have seen him, whether it be the reserves or last season's cup matches, I have thought he has been poor. But last night really takes the biscuit and he should be ashamed and embarrassed by his performance. On many occassions I have discussed with friends who we think is the worst ever Reading player and Hughie Cheetham has always topped my list - until now.

    Reading needed a penalty shoot-out to eliminate 10-man Darlington from the Carling Cup. It had ended 3-3 after 90 minutes and when no further goals could be found in extra time the Premiership outfit eventually squeezed out their lower league opponents 4-2 on penalties.

    Royals boss Steve Coppell made 10 changes to the side which won 2-1 at Sheffield United on Saturday, with Leroy Lita the only survivor. Three of the newcomers - Peter Mate, Ulises de la Cruz and Andre Bikey - were making their Royals debuts and Darlington soon realised they could more than hold their own.

    Referee Lee Probert decided home skipper Brynjar Gunnarsson had held back Darren Holloway as he tried to get on the end of a corner in the 19th minute, with striker Simon Johnson netting the resulting penalty. Craig James might have doubled the lead soon afterwards with a shot across goal and when goalkeeper Graham Stack failed to gather the left-back's cross he was relieved to see Johnson head wide.

    Darlington gifted their hosts an undeserved equaliser on the half-hour mark however courtesy of a mix-up between skipper Holloway and rookie goalkeeper David Stockdale. A back header was squirted across goal instead of into Stockdale's hands and Lita put on a spurt to find the empty net.

    Darlington's response was to regain the lead within four minutes however with Joachim finishing a move he had begun himself with a pacy run from midfield. The former Aston Villa, Leicester and Coventry man fed Carlos Logan, whose shot was deflected off John Halls into Joachim's path and he made no mistake from just inside the box.

    Reading were smarting but conjured up a reply within a minute, John Oster threading a ball through the defence to allow Lita to fire home from the right of the box. Reading should have been ahead before the break when De la Cruz, who had been outpaced by Joachim for Darlington's second, hurtled past challengers to reach to the box only to blaze over.

    Darlington went ahead for the third time eight minutes into the second half when David Rowson's cleverly laid-back corner was blasted into Stack's near-post top corner by Joachim.

    Bikey was booked for barging Johnson over as Darlington pressed for a fourth goal and Kalusivikako Ngoma was only just wide with a header from the free-kick.

    Lita won a free-kick just outside the box at the other end and Stockdale atoned for his earlier error by tipping Stephen Hunt's goal-bound effort against a post. Lita then went down in the box claiming shirt-pulling by Ngoma, but play continued. Reading sent on Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle in place of Lita for the final 20 minutes but the striker had yet to touch the ball when Rowson headed inches wide from a corner.

    Doyle made an impact by sprinting past David Duke and the defender was shown a straight red in the 73rd minute for hauling him down before he reached the box. Hunt fired the free-kick over before Oster forced a save from Stockdale.

    Reading piled on the pressure and were rewarded with an equaliser with fewer than five minutes of normal time remaining. Stockdale missed a corner and it bounced off Mate at the back post and over the line. The Hungarian had appeared to use an arm but there were no protests and the goal was allowed to stand.

    Darlington substitute Neil Wainwright failed to hit the target in the first half of extra-time when put through. Another replacement, Brian Close, blocked a goal-bound effort from Long from six yards at the other end and, just seconds into the final period, the young Irishman poked another good chance wide. Oster could not hit the target from a good position and the game went to penalties.

    Hunt netted the first after a retake and Reading stayed ahead when Holloway blasted over. Glen Little made it 2-0 to the home side before James pulled one back. Doyle saw his saved but Wainwright put his over. Long and Johnson both scored to make it 3-2 to Reading and Bikey made sure with a cool final spot-kick.



  • 18th September 2006 - Quakers Preview

    • Reading manager Steve Coppell will hand out debuts to a trio of new signings in the home Carling Cup tie with Darlington.

    Defenders Ulises de la Cruz, Andre Bikey and Peter Mate will all make first-team bows while winger Glen Little starts for the first time since being injured in April.

    Fringe men Stephen Hunt and Shane Long also start, with utility men Brynjar Gunnarsson, John Oster and John Halls as well as second-string goalkeeper Graham Stack expected to do likewise.

    Darlington manager David Hodgson will tinker with his side.

    One enforced change is likely to see Darren Holloway return to the starting line-up after fellow defender Patrick Collins sustained a thigh injury in Saturday's 1-1 home draw against Bristol Rovers.

    Young goalkeeper David Stockdale made his only appearance this season in the first-round win at Stoke and is expected to replace Sam Russell against the Royals, a day before his 21st birthday.

    Hodgson will rotate his strikers at the Madejski Stadium, with two from Julian Joachim, Barry Conlon and Martin Smith making way for Alun Armstrong and Carlos Logan.

    Gaetano Giallanza misses out as he serves the final game of his three-match ban.

    Reading V Darlington
    Top Lge Scorers Goals Tuesday 19/9 @ 8pm Top Lge Scorers Goals
    Doyle 2 Referee: L Probert (Gloucestershire) Conlon 6
    Sidwell 1 Games: 8   Yellows: 23   Reds: 2 Giallanza 2
    Lita 1 Last 4 Meetings Joachim 2
    Kitson 1 10/03/1992 Darlington 2 4 Reading Smith 2
    Ingimarsson 1 05/11/1991 Reading 1 1 Darlington Ngoma 1
    Lge Discipline       19/04/1986 Darlington 0 0 Reading Lge Discipline      
    Total Fouls 40 23/11/1985 Reading 0 2 Darlington Total Fouls ??
    Yellows 5 Yellows 12
    Reds 1 Head to Head Reds 1
    Lge Goal details:     Reading Draws Darlington Lge Goal details:    
    For 7 League 16 3 5 For 14
    Against 6 FA Cup 0 0 0 Against 10
    Ave scored per game 1.40 League Cup 0 0 0 Ave scored per game 1.55
    Shots / Goals  43/7 Total 16 3 5 Open Play 8
    Left Foot 5 Crosses 2
    Right Foot 0 Games Since Corners<