If you’ve been waiting to FINALLY get to the Reading section of our Town End previews, you’ve got it - and Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday too, you lucky people.
What have you made of the job Paul Clement’s done so far?
Upon passing through the Reading FC revolving doors in March, Paul Clement scarcely had time to take his coat off before being forced to set about salvaging the club’s fast-fading Championship status. Indeed, the gaffer’s new seat in the Madejski Stadium dugout was still toasty warm from housing Jaap Stam’s derriere for the past few painful months.
In his first game at the helm, Clement’s impact proved to be instantaneous - seemingly inspiring a scrappy 1-0 home win against Queens Park Rangers. This result was nothing short of miraculous, given that at the time it was only his new team’s second victory in nineteen (NINETEEN!) matches. Fanbase spirits were temporarily lifted, and the three points played a critical role in eventually hauling the Royals away from the relegation trapdoor…albeit by a whisker.
However, four months down the line, the fabled New Manager Bounce Effect™ has dissipated and the honeymoon period - if there ever was one - is over.
Casting judgement upon Clement’s time in Berkshire is perhaps premature given the brief nature of his tenure, but a less-than-glittering array of preseason results in combination with the odd example of eyebrow-raising transfer business (looking at you, John O’Shea) has done little to cement Paul’s non-existent place in my heart.
In a word: uh, meh? (I appreciate that those aren’t really words, and that there’s two of them.)
How optimistic or pessimistic would you say the fanbase is at the moment?
Sticking my emotional barometer in the air, I’d gauge the mood as being neither optimistic nor pessimistic - rather, there’s a jaded, cynical malaise hanging over the Reading fanbase.
Given that the club’s latest league finishes make for grim reading - 19th, 17th, 3rd, and 20th - there is a sense of last season being a spectacularly fudged opportunity: the Royals could have set an upward trajectory and built upon a play-off push which narrowly (and agonisingly) fell short, but instead suffered the mother of all hangovers and almost paid the ultimate price for it.
In short, last season’s abject failure makes Reading’s third-place finish in 2016/2017 seem like a freak occurrence, and the continued ineptitude on display since our Playoff Final defeat sadly appears to be our new norm. Which is miserable, frankly.
Even those fans with the most resolutely sunny outlook and glass-half-full disposition would struggle to put a positive spin on last season - to me, the mental flatness and sour sentiment seems to have lingered on into this preseason.
Some amongst us may perceive the new season as an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over. Personally, I’ll still be crying into my beer by the time the first ball is kicked come August.
How would you sum up last season?
Without a liberal sprinkling of some spicy expletives, it’s difficult to paint a vivid enough picture of paralytic woe for you, dear reader. Alas, TTE is for the children, and therefore I’ll have to keep my vernacular relatively PG. *deep breath*
Last season was bad. Very bad indeed.
Imagine that the River Kennet was made of lava. Imagine that there were lava-resistant piranhas inhabiting the Lava Kennet. Now, imagine that all your nearest and dearest relatives were flung into the Lava Kennet, from a tremendous height, and unceremoniously fed one by one to the Lava Piranhas (this is like the worst John Lennon song ever).
That would be bad, right? Last season was worse. Much worse.
To this day, recurring visions of Sone Aluko haplessly marauding down the flank plague my every waking nightmare. Actually, let’s not even go there - I’m struggling to pay for my therapy sessions as-is.
What are your expectations for this season?
Expectations are low, almost historically so. In my (relatively short) living memory (seriously, I can’t even remember what I had for breakfast), I’ve never been less hyped for a season to commence, and even less hyped to witness Tyler Blackett being skinned alive by his wide-adversary week after week.
However, if you were to catch me in a more reasonable frame of mind, I could make an argument for this being a season of minor promise and cautiously incremental progress. Potentially.
On the pitch, there are reputations to be redeemed, and off the pitch, we have a new(ish) manager with a significant coaching pedigree - supplemented by Chinese owners with a reportedly not-so-insignificant modicum of wealth.
Reasons to be cheerful, no matter how miniscule. The only way is up, surely? (That’s right, Yazz predicted our glorious 2017/2018 season all the way as far back as 1988. Good old Yazz.)
Who’s our player to watch out for?
I have a well-documented fetish for defensive midfielders. More specifically, a midfield destroyer type, who - when he’s not busy snapping ankles like autumnal twigs - acts as a calming and steadying presence in the centre of the park.
Now that I’ve removed all the Joey van den Berg posters from my wall, it falls to David Meyler to occupy that very specific gaping void in my soul, to scratch that slightly weird itch of mine, and to satisfy my darkest midfield desires.
Fresh to these Southern parts (no, not *those* southern parts), and thus untainted by the nuclear fallout of Reading’s humanitarian/footballing crisis of last year, Meyler could play a vital role this season.
A natural leader with Passion™, although perhaps unfairly seen as unfashionable, David should bring a much-needed balance to a midfield which until now was desperately lacking in steel and guile. The guy’s a dab-hand at FIFA too, apparently.
A younger name who could break through?
As dire as things can often seem at Reading, one saving grace that has remained fairly constant over time is the steady stream of exciting youth prospects threatening to, ahem, “Do Bits” in the first team.
Fittingly then, there are a good handful of tenderly-aged players who could make their mark this season: an apparently more mature Yakou Meite has returned reinvigorated from a valuable spell away on loan in France, and Pelle Clement will be hoping to impress his dad and stake a claim to a starting birth in the team after a hot and cold smattering of appearances last time out. (What do you mean, “Paul Clement ISN’T Pelle Clement’s dad”? Lies, lies and damned lies.)
Granted, both Meite and Clement are *technically* post-breakthrough at Reading, having seen spells of game time in the past - they are however both only 22, something which I suspect is often overlooked in Pelle Clement’s case especially.
If I had to be less of a filthy cop-out merchant, I’d wager that wee Danny Loader’s star will continue to rise this season. The lad is a bit special.
Where will we finish the season?
I’ve consulted my Runes of Prophetic Foresight, sought guidance from an oracle (not the shopping centre), and sifted through a lagoon of tea-leaves. The portents are conclusive. We’re nailed on to finish higher than 20th this season.
But as bold a prediction as that is, why stop there?
Reluctantly, I passed the oracle another tenner - after changing the batteries in her crystal ball, she whispered, and I quote: “Reading? They’ll come 14th, mark my words. #StamOut.”
Jacob South Klein, who’ll be doing his annual #BushWatch escapades on transfer deadline day, can be found on Twitter right here.
How big a loss will Bournemouth-bound David Brooks be?
David Brooks will of course be missed by Sheffield United next season. He’s a creative player who’s got the ability to unlock defences at the next level up with Bournemouth in my opinion, and could prove to be a real bargain for them if he stays fit. He had some bad luck with glandular fever in the winter months during the last campaign following a superb start in 2017/2018.
This meant he was mainly used as an impact player from the bench, but he was undoubtedly an effective one. Despite this, the move seems to be financially reasonable for both parties, providing the funds continue to be re-invested into the first team.
How would you sum up last season?
Last season was mainly an enjoyable experience for Sheffield United fans. Finishing tenth on your return to the second tier is nothing other than respectable, although most Blades will tell you the second half to our campaign was slightly underwhelming. Paul Coutts’ broken leg in November away at Burton Albion appeared to be the turning point, and even though we reinvested in January, we just couldn’t seem to regenerate our initial momentum which saw us top the Championship table briefly.
The memories of winning 4-2 at Hillsborough against our local rivals Sheffield Wednesday and doing the double over Leeds won’t be forgotten anytime soon though - that’s for sure.
What are your expectations for this season?
Looking ahead, as the quality of teams and players in the Championship continues to improve, we’ll need to be at our best more often than not to get anywhere near a play-off spot. Right now, it’s obvious we still need a couple of quality additions if we are to try and challenge for the top six.
However, Chris Wilder has strengthened the first team well this summer with the likes of John Egan, Dean Henderson and David McGoldrick. Hopefully he can secure a few more of his desired targets to give the Blades a real chance of achieving something-although realistically, I think we’ll do well to finish in the top half again.
Who’s your player to watch out for?
John Fleck’s had a couple of fantastic years at Bramall Lane. The former Rangers man joined the Blades on a free from Coventry City back in 2016 and has gone on to become one of the most coveted central midfielders in the Championship. Fleck’s diminutive stature, combined with his sublime balance and agility in possession makes him incredibly difficult to play against.
The tenacious Scotsman’s also become renowned for his creative passing ability, and with seven assists to his name last season, you wouldn’t bet against him surpassing that amount during the next campaign. Without question, manager’s in the opposite dugout to Chris Wilder will recognise the importance of preventing Fleck from dictating games if they’re to get a result against the Blades.
A younger name who could break through?
Since signing from Wolves in January, Lee Evans has shown a great deal of potential. The Welsh international has only just turned 24, and many will feel his best years are still ahead of him. Towards the end of last season, Evans amazed fans inside Bramall Lane with a spectacular volley against much-fancied Middlesbrough and showed everybody what he’s capable of.
Hopefully, he can kick on again from August and produce more moments of quality. If this proves to be the case, Chris Wilder may face a real selection headache in the middle of the park.
Where will you finish the season?
My heart believes we can mount yet another serious play-off push this season and break into the top six if we get the rub of the green. However, when you look at the financial resources available to certain clubs in comparison to ourselves, my head tells me we’ll be fortunate to secure a finish inside the top twelve. In terms of the specific position we’ll finish, I’ll take a guess at eighth-But I hope I’m wrong!
Chris Davis-Smith is on Twitter here.
What’s the mood like amongst the Wednesday fanbase at the moment?
Relatively positive, I would say. Wednesday had a very disappointing 2017/18 campaign so starting a fresh season with a new approach can only be encouraging for us Owls fans. With pre-season underway, expectations always rise, although I think it’s important to remain level headed and remind ourselves that the Championship is one of the most challenging leagues in the world.
How’s Jos Luhukay done so far?
So far so good, it’s still early days in terms of his management reign but the signs are encouraging. Luhukay’s hands are tied due to financial fair play but tactically he puts a lot of emphasis on keeping clean sheets and playing to our strengths in attack. I can’t really ask for anything more at this stage, I think it’s only fair to then judge him around November/December.
How would you sum up last season?
Very disappointing, expectations were to finish top six as we had done so in the previous two campaigns, however, inconsistency became a reoccurring theme. Ultimately this killed our season and cost Carvalhal his job. It was Luhukay who then seemed to find a winning formula towards the end of the season as we found ourselves at the top end of the form table throughout April and May.
What are your expectations for this season?
First things first, I would love for Wednesday to have a bright start and gain some momentum from the off this season. All being well, a top half finish has to be a realistic expectation. If, however, Wednesday have an element of luck on the injury front, a play-off push is a possibility, I think.
Who’s your player to watch out for?
I could name a few but you can’t look past Fernando Forestieri. Everyone in the league knows that he’s one of the best players in the league when at full fitness and on form. He can be unplayable on his day and that’s not even being biased.
A younger name who could break through?
Again, I could name a few, we have had a huge influx of youths players being promoted to the first team under Luhukay. I will say Ash Baker, I now expect him to get a decent amount of game time at right back this term with Jack Hunt recently departing. Otherwise look out for Jack Stobbs, Jordan Thorniley, Frederick Nielsen, Connor Kirby and Preslav Borokov who all have potential to be decent at this level.
Where will you finish the season?
I expect us to finish in the top half. Tenth is probably a realistic shout, although, like I mentioned, with a little bit of luck on the injury front, momentum, confidence and maybe a decent loan signing, a play-off spot could be achievable, let me be optimistic and say sixth.
Louis Shackshaft appears on the Championship Roundtable Podcast, and can be found on Twitter here.