In the 15th of a series of pre-season reports, HarryfromBath assesses the mood around the Championship clubs by delving into their forums, looking here at how Reading have fared after losing May’s play-off final. All of the teams in the division will be covered between by the start of the season.

“We are a proven Championship team, but I feel the competition is too strong this season and we lack a cutting edge”, “I optimistically predicted promotion at the end of last season, but based on transfer dealings and the current situation with injuries, we would do well to make the play-offs.”

Although a poll on one forum after their play-off final defeat had 68 per cent of Royals predicting a top-six finish and 44 per cent promotion, the optimism in the afterglow of a Wembley appearance has diminished as their pre-season has seen just three new arrivals and a catalogue of injuries.

“I expect this season to be a lot tougher”, “Solid mid-table for me, I don’t have high expectations and I am happy to be proved wrong”, “I’m confident that our performances and playing style will move forward, but I will be more than happy and a little surprised to be in the play-off hunt this season.”

Jaap Stam

“Keeping Jaap Stam for the next 12 months is essential”, “He seems to have brought a togetherness to the squad and they enjoy working for him”, “We have a great chance, but to finish in the top two you need to win games and score goals, so we need to attack more incisively than we did last year.”

Jaap Stam

Royals have been impressed with how the 45-year-old has gone about moulding a team to a clear possession-based playing style since he arrived last summer. “I am not assuming Stam can produce a team who will play well more often, but I am full of anticipation just to see how things will turn out.”

“Jaap says Reading are working on changing their playing style to make us less predictable”, “The team are getting used to Stam’s style of play and if they can just up the tempo a wee bit and add that cutting edge, I can really see us challenging for an automatic spot at the end of the season.”

A Mass Exodus

“It doesn’t make pretty reading, does it? The squad has been decimated this summer with only a few signings made. What really concerns me is the number of youngsters released or sold”, “We haven’t lost that many first-teamers. We have trimmed the squad and it looks lean rather than threadbare.”

Danny Williams (r) vs Tom Adeyemi now a Town player

No fewer than 13 players have left the club permanently with an additional five heading out on loan at the start of the season. The most notable departures have been midfielder Danny Williams who has switched to Huddersfield and keeper Ali Al-Habsi, who is now with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal.

“Williams played well in his final three months, but the preceding years were underwhelming. I liked his energy but we can find that in a better ball-playing midfielder”, “Based on what I saw at Gillingham and what he did for us, I’m not that surprised that Dominic Samuel has gone to a League One club.”

Other notable departing players include former Town loan signing Samuel, the striker now with Blackburn and fellow frontman Paolo Hurtado, now permanently at Vitoria Guimaraes after being on loan with them last season. Defender Jake Cooper has moved to newly-promoted Millwall.

Players switching to lower league sides include attacking midfielder Tariqe Fosu who has switched to Charlton - for whom he scored against Town at the weekend - and defenders Zak Jules and Jack Stacey who have respectively moved to Shrewsbury and Luton. Attackers Yakou Meite and Craig Tanner have respectively joined Sochaux and Motherwell.

Three New Faces

“If we don’t sign a forward soon, I’m going to be seriously worried”, “We should put all our effort into signing a really fast top-drawer striker. We don’t need anyone else”, “We could finish mid-table with the current striking options, the defence will always be under pressure to keep a clean sheet.”

Bodvarsson

The new arrivals at the Madejski Stadium this summer are 21-year-old Dutch winger Pelle Clement from Ajax, goalkeeper Vito Mannone, 29, from Sunderland, and former Town target and striker Jón Daði Böðvarsson, the 25-year-old having arrived from Wolves on a three-year contract.

“Mannone is still settling in. He can kick with both feet and further upfield than Al-Habsi, a different type of keeper but potentially an improvement”, “The new keeper is certainly a giant of a man so he will be a presence on crosses, although we have only seen him behind a shaky Sunderland defence.”

“Böðvarsson appears mobile around the attacking third but doesn’t track back deep like team-mate Yann Kermorgant. He has Yann’s size and pace but is not a player to catch the eye”, “He wins plenty of challenges and tries to flick the ball on but none of our players have been making the runs yet.”

An Injury-Hit Pre-Season

“With what I have gleaned on pre-season training, we are working towards a different style of play with more tempo and interplay”, “We have been great at keeping the ball and being patient, but breaking quickly and occasionally playing long passes when the chance arises could improve us.”

Reading have been in the Netherlands this summer, adopting the novel approach of playing two matches per day with each involving a separate XI. Two wins over QPR were followed by a 1-0 loss to Kortrijk and draws with Turkish side Gencerbirligi (2-2), Sparta Rotterdam (0-0) and Cercle Brugge (1-1).

“I know it’s only pre-season but getting hammered by a fairly average team just one week before the season can hardly be good preparation.” Their final pre-season outing on Saturday saw them recover from what was at one point a three-goal deficit to lose 3-2 at home to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.

The team which began Saturday’s game (above) was set out in Stam’s familiar 4-3-3 shape but was shorn of strikers Yann Kermorgant and Joseph Mendes, wingers Garath McCleary, Callum Harriott and Roy Beerens, midfielder Stephen Quinn and defenders Tennai Watson and Tyler Blackett.

The team which finished the game included young prospects Omar Richards, Andy Rinomhota and Danny Loader. While fans have seen that the side is evolving a style of play “with more tempo and intensity”, it has been difficult to achieve with so many regular starters missing from training.

A Year Older and Wiser

“On the face of it we look weaker than last season with departures and injuries with others in theory are strengthening. However, there’s a case to be made that the likes of George Evans, Liam Kelly and Tyler Blackett among others will be better for having experienced a full Championship season.”

Many Royals are confident that their squad will blossom this season. “The young core of this team gained valuable experience last year”, “The big plus for me is still Stam. With a first full season to see exactly what’s what in the Championship under his belt, he will be even more astute this season.”

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Photo: Action Images

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