We played well but lost 1-0. Reminds me of a lot of games from this season but we can keep our heads up after the levels of commitment we showed. Also I made MOTD because I was behind the goal when Chelsea scored, leaning on the wall with a Cross of Saint George flag. Beyond that the journey home was interesting.......

Anyway, onto something that got me thinking. The commentator on MOTD to describe Reading player Stephen Hunt (the guy who collided with Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech) said that his performance was showing everyone, and I quote:

“What a genuine little player he is”

At first I thought it was a bit of a strange way to describe someone. If he is out on the pitch, kicking the ball then what the hell is he meant to be? Be then if you engage the brain he was referring to Hunt as a player who had been overshadowed by the Cech incident and was now showing people that he has much more to him then the infamous event. Seeing as I have started on Hunt, I may as well continue on this theme and take a look at Reading.

They came to Upton Park and won 1-0. Well most teams during that run of bad results were but it was through having one or two shots on goal the whole game in which they got the 3 points. The South Korean forward Seol Ki-Hyeon was a tormentor of the crowd all game (who in return were chanting DVD) and Sidwell was playing out of his skin, especially when he rescued the win in the final minutes with a goal line clearance. But from watching Reading in that game you could tell that they were going to be safe this year. The way they played through runners out wide and counter attacking but not exactly sitting back for 90minutes was very reminiscent of Wigan last year, and Bolton before them (well… half and half) and so on. It is a trait of teams that gain promotion nowadays that at least one team will stay up through their hard graft and determination. The Wigan and Reading link is painfully obvious but it rings true in other ways then just style of play. There are the untested group of players in the topflight, the buying big (in a lower league sense) of immerging talent like Lita joining Reading for £1 million. There are the managers of both sides who have had previous experience of managing in the top flight.

Oh and having a wealthy backer (speaking of which, it’s a bit ironic to me that Dave Whelan, Wigan chairman company and owner of JJB, the sports clothes store is kit maker for Leciester City. Now whenever a fan buys their team shirt, they are funding Wigan Athletic) always helps. Then there is the movement from old grounds into new homes. I have been to both the JJB Stadium and the Majdeski Stadium (funny that both are named after their owners) and to not be bias but all the times I have been to these grounds, the atmosphere has been lacking from the home fans. True you could say that home fans for the majority are usually very quite but at a Championship (old first division, old second division) level, when you have to give away a whole stand running along side the pitch (7000 at Wigan) and the whole end behind the goal (5000 at reading) then you have to wonder about fan base. As you can see already I have got a bit sidetracked from Reading by involving Wigan more so I shall leave Wigan alone and get back to Reading.

The first time I was there me, my brother and dad were in among the home fans close to the West Ham fans. A dire performance from us resulted in a 2-0 loss. After a blunder from Dailly and Bywater for the first goal I could not stay quite and after everyone had finished celebrating I stood up and shouted myself stupid. Not the best idea really but you are not going to get any trouble at Reading. Like Charlton it is very much a family club. I would have to check but swearing is possibly an offence and being thrown out is the consequence. Anyway second time round it was just me and my dad and this time we got free Easter eggs and seats with the other Hammers. Freddy Ljungberg missed an open goal in the FA Cup game that day away to Bolton and after watching that game and taking in the leaflet we had been handed. Sit down if you love your club said the leaflet in bold and it was Reading telling us that by standing, West Ham will get less tickets next time round. Well everyone stood so it will be interesting to see if there is a reduction in allocation for the game on the 1st January. Anyway we lost 3-1. Biggest mistake was to play Mullins out of position on the right and have him mark Dave Kitson at set plays. Kitson scored two headers from two set pieces. Elliot Ward came on for the final 10minutes for his first appearance in the claret and blue but by then it was all over. Going back to my point about atmosphere, there was a drumbeat played around the ground for the Reading fans to clap along to. The only problem is you could not see a drum anyway. Were Reading playing a drum beat through the tannoy system to get people going? I wouldn’t put it pass them. Now compare that to this season. The “big” games have been on TV but the crowd has been buzzing and the ground is now full for every game, a vast difference from 2005.

What does the future hold for Reading? Survival this season and then a very interesting summer transfer window.