FanZoner Tom Smith wonders if Reading boss Brian McDermott can write himself into local history.
Can Reading clinch promotion is the question
There's a drinking hole tucked away under Reading town hall called 'The Three 'B's.' It's name pays homage to a past when Reading was infamous for its production of the 3 'B's: beer, bulbs (of the plant kind) and biscuits.
That era is long gone, but now is the time for us Royals to add a 4th 'B' to that famous list: Brian McDermott. We think he can deliver glory back to the Mad Stad.
After a awful start to last season's campaign with Brendan Rogers' mismanagement (good luck, Swansea), McDermott turned it all around from almost a year without a home win to a sole loss at home to Newcastle. A rare cup run initiated the revival of form and spirit, reaching the quarter finals of the FA Cup for the first time in 83 years and beating Liverpool along the way.
Brian instilled into the squad a consistency and a focused attacking strategy that we had pined for ever since an overhaul of playing resources after Premier League relegation. He brought back the not-so-distant glory days of the 2005-6 season and helped us truly shake off the post Premier League hangover.
He even turned Jimmy Kebe into a deadly, goal-scoring winger. Any Reading fan will tell you; that deserves a knighthood, let alone a place alongside some bulbs, beer and biscuits.
Questions
So, what about the campaign ahead? Can we carry that end-of-season momentum into first full season of the new decade? Can Brian stake his claim for a place alongside the beer, bulbs and biscuits? Or will this year turn into a drunken, fat pansy?
All the signs during pre-season point to a promising campaign ahead. I'd even be so bold as to say we're looking good for automatic promotion. A tour of the Balkans has produced some good results and bolstered team spirit, according to new signing Andy Griffin. Back home, impressive results against Wycombe, Wolves and Southampton have continued the good form going into the first game against Scunny.
It seems the first team will remain largely unchanged from last season. We've let a couple of players go, notably Cissé and Matejovsky, but new signing Marcus Williams (an Ashley Cole-esque attacking left back) is proving an excellent addition from Scunthorpe, interacting well with McAnuff.
We're also likely to see Michail Antonio featuring in an attacking role. He has bagged a pair of goals in pre-season and looks to be high on Brian's agenda this season. Watch out for his big throw-in when he gets the chance. Another newbie that stands to impress if he gets the opportunity is Jake Taylor, an 18 year-old who's just signed a pro contract and is a classy, versatile midfielder that could be a future star.
Continuity
Aside from these arrivals and departures, we'll see some decent continuity from last season.
Royals fans will be thrilled to hold on to the talents of Simon Church and Gylfi Sigurdsson as we need their pace and sharpness and we'll struggle to notch goals without them. Our goalkeeping is extremely healthy, with a number of talented replacements for the awesome Federici waiting in the wings in case of injury.
We'll hope Ingimarsson returns quickly and we should expect to see Noel Hunt and Chris 'Stretch' Armstrong begin to claw their way back towards the first team.
The Championship looks more open than ever and the quality of sides coming down from the Premier League doesn't match the standards of Newcastle and West Brom. We have a fantastic chance to get back to the top, but only if start the season well, we avoid injuries and someone scores 20+ goals. Simple as that! We've got the infrastructure in place with fantastic facilities, fans and coaching staff and we've got some talented young players.
Let's hope this season brings some more joy to the 'Life of Brian.'
