Hell Week: Almost Over

Hazing usually occurs when you first join a group, but in the Premier League, the first season must be considered something of a trial period, a free pass to see if you’ve got enough to stick around. That second season though, that’s when the gloves come off. You want to stay up for more than just a sniff of the spotlight, want to establish your seal on the website in more than erasable pen, maybe even get a Wallbanger made? You’ve got to go through the best.

So Reading are forced to be the measuring stick by which United and Chelsea prove themselves in the first week of the season. And with 1 point from 2 games against the Big 4, Reading may not be sitting too pretty in the league table right now, but they’ve done about as well as can be expected. Through the first 135 minutes of the season, they’d stared down the defending champions on their home turf and led Chelsea 1-0, results any team would be proud of. But a five-minute lapse of concentration at the start of the second half against Chelsea, and - whoosh - there go the points. So it goes.

All in all, a solid effort from the Royals though. They were definitely the better side in the first half, even if their goal was of the calamitous pinball variety (and don’t think Reading fans didn’t notice that it was old friend Steve Sidwell getting squished by Peter Cech amidst the chaos). But it was only logical that their retinas would be worn down by Chelsea’s ghastly highlighter-yellow shirts, and some deft adjustments by Murinho at the half led to two quick and rather impressive strikes. After that the wheels came off, and there was nothing to do but accrue yellow cards.

Those cautions may be the story of the season so far, actually. Last year, Reading had the fewest yellow cards in the Premiership, this year they’ve already picked up 6 yellows and 2 reds, good for the lowest fairplay ranking through two rounds. Dave Kitson’s straight red was somewhat harsh, and Kalifa Cisse’s second yellow was a sham (nice playacting, Pizarro), but overall it seems like refs might be calling Reading a little tighter on their sometimes reckless play this year. Of course, it could just be that they’re protecting the big clubs, but if it keeps up, it’s worrisome…part of the Royals’ strength is their conditioning and tenacity, their pursuit of every ball. If you start handing out quick cards to Stephen Hunt, who impressed Wednesday by running around the field like a toddler on a Pixi-Stik binge, it could take the edge of the Reading game. File that one away for later. (note: Coppell agrees)

The other thing to get nervous about after two games is the lack of scoring, though again, that’s heavily skewed by facing two world-class defenses. Still, Chelsea sans Terry proved porous against Birmingham in the opening round, so the fact that we could only scrape out a cheap goal is a bit worrisome. Come back soon from your “bed-stretching” injury, Leroy.

Some other leftover notes:

- Couldn’t see much of what Kalifa Cisse was doing, but the offensive improvements from Sunday to Wednesday makes me think he performed pretty well. Too bad he’ll be suspended for Saturday.
- John Oster and Shane Long looked good in their first starts. It’s going to be tough to find Bobby Convey a spot.
- Michael Duberry left with injury in the first half, and is doubtful for the weekend. Hard to tell how much of an impact swapping Duberry for Bikey made on Wednesday, but it certainly makes a thin central defense even thinner.
- Nicky Shorey back in the squad for England’s friendly against Germany next week. Congrats!

Red-hot Everton in town on Saturday, and then away to Bolton and Swansea (Carling Cup). Everton has looked real impressive in their first two games, but can be scored upon…let’s see if the offense will wake up.

A programming note: I apologize for being a bit light on the posting this week, but combining 3 big Reading games in 7 days with some travel and real estate dealings on my end, and it’s been a tough start. As things slow down for both the team and me, I promise to branch out a bit beyond preview/review form posts. Thanks for your patience.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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