Rob Ridgway's "Rat Pack"

[tenthreeleader]

All:

The character of Dumont is a combination of several of the more strident agents I've read about. There is method to their madness even as much as management doesn't care for it. They are paid to represent clients whether we as fans (and FM players) like it or not. And Rob is about to not like Dumont even more ...

___

I stepped in front of the cameras today in the lobby of the club offices and gave the shortest press briefing I have ever done.

“I have a brief statement,” I said. “I have spoken this morning with Ibrahima Sonko and I carry a message from him.”

I then reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out Sonko’s letter requesting a transfer. I ripped it to pieces.

I handed the pieces to Paula. Then I left.

# # #

When I returned from training, I almost literally ran into Dumont, who was red-hot with anger. Again, he had chosen to confront me in front of Paula, who was getting used to high drama by this point.

“You rip up my client’s request for a transfer on television? How dare you!” he stormed.

I looked at him with an even expression. “Mr. Dumont, let me tell you something,” I said. “Your client came to me this morning to tell me you were full of s**t. Now, I’m going to tell you something else, and you had better listen to what I have to say. The next time you come to this office without an appointment, I will have you arrested for trespassing. Do I make myself clear?”

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said.

I looked him in the eye, but spoke to my PA. “Paula, call security,” I said. “Mr. Dumont is to be escorted from the grounds immediately. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Rob,” she said. “Right away.”

“Good,” I said, my gaze still fixed on Dumont. “And if you ever try to spread discord among my team members again, I’ll report you to FIFA. Do I make myself clear?”

He said nothing in reply.

# # #

[Goofus]

Ah, that Joorabchian's crooked.

And Rob really is cracking down hard.

[tenthreeleader]

Rob ain't happy, Goofus. So ain't nobody gonna be happy for awhile ...

___

Sonko trained with the reserves today. I am mindful of my responsibilities to my squad, though, so it is possible I’ll allow him onto the bus for the trip to Manchester this weekend. Not in the squad, mind you, but for squad harmony if I decide it’s warranted.

He has friends on the club. But no one is bigger than the club and I have absolutely no hesitation in leaving him all the way out of the squad – even if he really doesn’t want to leave the club. For the disruption alone, he deserves punishment. And if that means keeping him out of the squad on a prolonged basis for a silly and foolish action, that is what I will do.

Madejski rang me shortly after the morning press briefing. “I support you,” he said. “Sidney has already been in to see me this morning about the Director of Football nonsense and I had the pleasure of telling him about Sonko personally.”

I smiled. “Looks like today might just be better than yesterday, then,” I said.

# # #

Maloney is doing a lot better today as well. In my afternoon briefing, which thankfully lacked the drama of the morning one, I praised his play.

Shaun is a very good player, and an ideal player for the raider role in my tactic, but he also likes to be praised. Most players do. I told the press that his form has been good – and it has, approaching legendary status among some of the support – and by the time he found out about my comments, he was smiling again.

So it was a case, in this case, of Maloney’s relationship with me being stronger than his relationship with Sonko. I need Maloney to be in the right frame of mind this weekend so a little man-management here might go a long way.

Good. I need him happy and healthy for the trip. I also want Shaun’s popularity with the fans to ease some of the tension around the club as we head off to Eastlands this weekend. City is solidly at mid-table and playing them will be enough of a banana skin without having to worry about externalities.

In short, I feel like I’m in charge again. That’s a great feeling.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Wednesday, December 3

My annoyance with the whole Sonko situation grew to near snapping point today – and it wasn’t because of the player. It wasn’t even because of his agent.

It was because of Emiliani, of all people. He’s like Pavlov’s dog – he hears someone ringing the bell of discord and he comes running with drool hanging out of his mouth.

Had the Press Association not seen his dispatch to Gazzetto Dello Sport today, I wouldn’t have had to hold a second news conference regarding Sonko – this time with the player at my side.

His article began with a wonderfully unbiased statement:

Don’t believe Reading manager Rob Ridgway when he says he’s hanging on to Ibrahima Sonko. The central defender, who has been key to Reading’s success so far this season, wants to play in Italy.

There’s no doubt that a player of his size, strength and talent could play in Calcio and there’s even less doubt that given the proper coaching, he could blossom into a world star. So there’s really no reason for him to stay with Ridgway.

The manager made a theatrical statement worthy of Shakespeare when he “ripped up” Sonko’s transfer request for the cameras yesterday. However, agent Phillippe Dumont has written another one and plans to deliver it personally to the manager this afternoon.

Ridgway has threatened Dumont with arrest should he set foot on Reading’s training ground again without permission. Bold words from the American, who is getting a real education on how Europeans operate in their game – and how far his nation must go to learn to play in it.

I called Waters to my office this morning when I read the article.

“Pull his press credential,” I said. “I want to know you’ve done this before I start training today. I’m going to have to face media again today because of this idiot and I don’t want him in the room when I have to do it. Clear?”

“It sure is,” Waters said quietly.

I then rang Madejski with yet another update.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Believe it or not, we are preparing for a match this weekend.

For the second time this year, I’ll be facing the league’s Manager of the Month in the match after he’s won the award. This month it’s Sven-Göran Eriksson who has won, after leading City to three wins in four matches.

To the surprise of no one, Dean Ashton has won the player of the month trophy, with Liverpool’s Ryan Babel winning the young player award. I got the information on Monday, but frankly I’ve been too busy worrying about Sonko’s situation to pay any attention to it.

And getting ready for City, which I’m sure is watching the goings-on in Berkshire with amusement. The controversy surrounding their chairman, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had them on the front pages for weeks, followed by weeks more of speculation on the future of former England manager Eriksson after City underperformed last season.

Now it’s my turn to grab the headlines, and I’m sure the City supporters are happy to see the attention shifting away from their club.

Sonko remained with the reserves in training today. But while he trained, I had the opportunity to take him aside.

“I meant what I said yesterday,” he insisted. “I do not want to leave the club.”

“So where is the press getting this stuff about your agent coming to give me another letter? From him?”

“It must be,” Sonko replied. “It’s not coming from me. I swear it.”

“You know, you could do the rest of us a favor by reconsidering your choice of agent.”

“I am thinking about it.”

I shook my head, fought back an impulse to tell Sonko to do more than “think about it”, and dismissed him back to training. I don’t think it’s his fault. All I know is that I’m wildly frustrated by how this week has gone. The squad doesn’t need the distraction and I don’t need the aggravation.

# # #

[O\'Hara_fan]

Just managed to finish reading two pages or so of updates. All I can say is brilliant. Loving the whole Dumont/Sonko transfer thing, very intresting and well documented.

Awesome stuff mate!

[tenthreeleader]

Thanks, O'Hara! Always nice to know you're still enjoying!

___

This time, Sonko stood next to me.

“I will say it so the manager does not have to,” Sonko said. “I wish to stay. That is my decision. I hope the fans do not hold this distraction against me. I have a job to do and that job is to help my club win matches.”

“I notice the Italian reporter is not here,” Weatherby said. Nothing like getting right to the point.

“No, he’s not,” I said. “I have exercised my right as manager of this club to deny him a credential for today’s briefing.”

“Why can you do that?” Weatherby said. “Because he wrote something you didn’t like?”

“Because he wrote something that was provably false,” I said. “And it is quite possible, though I don’t want to accuse him of such things, that he wrote his story knowing his information was false as well. I have spoken to the player twice in the last 24 hours about this subject and then an inaccurate story is written that is posted all over England. I can’t have that. I won’t have that. Mr. Emiliani has lost his credential for today. Should he wish to cover this club again, he may do so starting tomorrow.”

“That’s a drastic step.” Weatherby was defending him, which I found not the least bit surprising.

“Not as drastic as you might think,” I said, as the reporters scribbled furiously. “You’re going to write that I kicked him out of the training ground today. He’s going to come back tomorrow a star and you’ll make him into one. Now, he can thank me for that tomorrow, but in the meantime what I have to say needs to be said with him out of the room.”

“And why is that?”

“Because while I’m saying it, I need to remember I promised my mother I’d never use bad words in public,” I smiled.

“What chance do you think there is of Mr. Dumont getting to see you today?” Weatherby asked, warming to my line of reasoning.

“Two chances, Jill. Slim and fat. And ‘slim’ just left the building.”

# # #

[salkster2102]

Good luck for the City game 10-3.

[tenthreeleader]

Thanks, salkster! I'm hoping the distractions won't hurt the team ..

___

Thursday, December 4

Amazingly, we had a whole day to prepare for City today, without distraction. I’m starting to wonder what I did wrong.

Sonko was quiet, the press was quiet about Sonko, and Emiliani didn’t show up at the training ground. Perhaps he was off trying to pick the bones of some other unfortunate manager.

I am also starting to wonder if I’ve got another, less pressing, issue. My reserve team is starting to come apart at the seams.

Dillon usually handles that team when the side is at home and last night Oliver Bozanic and Kalifa Cisse scored for us against West Ham. Unfortunately, by then we were trailing 5-0. Carlton Cole had scored a hat trick and we were in complete disarray.

The team is too big as it is. The wrong players are getting playing time, for the most part. The squad needs to shrink and that’s all there is to it. And it’s not playing very well. At the start of the season we led the reserve division in which we’re placed, but now the team has slid to seventh place.

Some teams really don’t care about their reserves – Chelsea, for example, has the eleventh-placed team in our league – but I would like the right reserve players to get playing time to get into form in case the senior squad needs them. And a culture of defeat, even at reserve level, is to be avoided at all costs.

So I asked Dillon for some answers today. It’s not a huge issue with me, but it’s something I’d like sorted. If that means taking a reserve match or two myself, that’s what it means. These players need to be playing better than they are.

The youth team is a whole different issue – it was a mess when I got here and it’s going to take at least a year to get that fixed. There, we have too many players playing out of position and any youth imports I can bring in by the end of the January window will be the only way I can help that situation between now and the next group of academy players.

But getting drilled at home is never fun, especially for players who want to be in the senior squad. So I need improvement all the way around.

# # #

I also had meaningful time with Patty for the first time all week. That was very nice. She has given me space this week while I’ve dealt with all the pressure, but tonight she realized that I need her help to get through this latest stretch.

She detests Emiliani. I merely tolerate him. She knows that his little stunt of yesterday just about drove me to distraction, but she suspects something I haven’t really considered to this point.

I think he’s a journalist trying to do a job and sometimes the way he does his job runs afoul of me. When that happens, I take corrective action.

She thinks he really doesn’t care who he hurts or whom he targets. So she was sticking up for me this evening.

“You were right to pull his credential,” she said. “Even if it was only a symbolic thing, what he did unsettled your players and your dressing room. You can’t let that happen and I’m glad you didn’t let it happen.”

“Unfortunately, the damage has been done,” I told her. “The controversy this week is into the squad’s heads and no matter who I bring to Manchester this weekend, they’re going to be thinking about all the crap that went on in the training room this week. Some of it is Dumont, some of it is Emiliani, and no matter what I tell them, people will think some of it is me. Now if I didn’t communicate well enough with Sonko, that’s fine and I’ll have to do some man-management over that. I don’t pretend I know everything about it. But I do know how I liked to be treated as a player and I try to treat those players who deserve it like men.”

“What about journalists?” she asked.

“I don’t treat Jill like a man,” I said, and her expression told me I should forget about the Blue Collar Comedy Tour as a career fallback.

“I treat journalists as professionals until I need to correct them,” I added, while blushing. “You remember what happened with Emiliani last year.”

“Couldn’t forget,” she said. “He hurt me too, remember.”

“I do remember,” I said. “But you’re the one who is now unafraid of the internet, right?”

“I’m over it,” she said. “I worry about you, though. Rob, you’re a stationary target and that means I worry. Is that all right?”

“It’s sweet of you to worry, but I’ve got the public relations department on my side,” I reminded her. “He annoys me but when he gets too big for his britches I can have professionals cut him down to size so I don’t have to.”

“You did this week,” she reminded me.

“I suppose I did at that,” I said. “But he deserved to hear it from me.”

# # #

The EPL teams in the UEFA Cup are in good shape, by and large. Villa won at home 2-0 to Besiktas last night through John Carew and Ryan Taylor, earning a trip to the knockout stages in the process. Everton also qualified, in a difficult location. They drew 1-1 at Atalanta, which is the shock leader of Serie A. They are eight points ahead of the field in Lega Calcio and the Toffees took their measure.

Bolton is the only club having trouble in its group. They were off tonight and must get a result at home to Livorno on December 18 to advance. They have three draws in their three matches and fell to fifth in their group after leaders AZ Alkmaar drew at Livorno this evening. Sammy Lee can still win his group if they beat Livorno by a cricket score and the last match between AZ and Levski ends in a draw. But stranger things have happened.

# # #

[Kewell08]

Just cut all the Reserves. I don't want to tell you too much because it's coming up in my story, but we'll just say that I don't shy away from paying release fees...

[tenthreeleader]

Kewell, perhaps they don't shy from paying release fees at Arsenal (or even Boro!), but they sure do at Reading ....

___

Friday, December 5

Today would usually be a travel day for us but since we play on Sunday this week we had a light day finishing with video of City.

The squad will look different on Sunday. For some reason, Faé is still sulking over the Sonko situation, so I’m not going to play him. Frankly, his attitude in training this week has been awful and even the words of his friend Sonko himself couldn’t shift it.

So he’s going to sit. Oster will get the call on the right side of midfield and I hope to send a message at the same time. I want positive attitudes and above all, understanding. The squad now knows that Sonko is having problems with his agent and those things are left to the players. Yet I want the players to know that they have a job to do and so do I. Individuals who don’t want to work within the system – or inform me or a coach when there are issues – don’t need to play. We have others who want to get onto the pitch.

Sonko won’t make the eighteen. Rosenior will get another chance to play his way into form at left back, while Pogatetz moves to the middle alongside Bikey. So my regular first-choice eleven will be weakened at a time when we’re playing an opponent who can take us out, away from home.

It’s a calculated risk, but I need some squad discipline right now as well. Rosenior and Oster need to play, and I need to show all my players that if I don’t see what I need to see in terms of their preparation and attitude, they’ll sit. So it’s an important point for me to make, and for the players to learn.

Of course, if we get handled, the person who will be open for criticism is me. I understand that and I accept that. No one said this job would be easy.

That was the general tone of today’s interview with Weatherby, who has had a lot more fun than she usually does in covering our weekly buildup. We talked this morning, and she scribbled notes to prepare for an early deadline.

We started by discussing City and my thoughts on Rolando Bianchi, their fine striker.

“A match winner,” I said. “He can hurt us. Like so many of the top strikers in this league, if we don’t get him marked he’ll eat us whole. So we have to account for him and our plan will hopefully do that.”

The topic of conversation then turned to Sonko. “Sold you a few more papers this week,” I said.

“You know I don’t write like that,” she said. “But is the squad settled?”

“As best it can be,” I said. “It has been a tumultuous week. A player of Sonko’s stature doesn’t have issues like he had this week without upsetting the apple cart. My job is to put eleven level heads out there and get a result. That doesn’t change no matter what’s gone on during the week.”

“But are they your best eleven?” she asked.

“We’ll find out on Sunday.”

# # #

[Marchie]

Nice one! Hope it doesn't affect the match.....

[tenthreeleader]

Me too, Marchie!

I will be out of town on business from Wednesday through Sunday. Posting may be affected depending on internet access at my hotel.

___

Saturday, December 6

I took a pit stop today while the players took a chartered flight to Manchester.

My stop was in the West Midlands, more or less along the way. Bordesley Green awaited, as I saw our next opposition, Birmingham. Their opponents were the oh-so-familiar Middlesbrough.

Steve Bruce’s Blues have had a rugged first half of the season, but at least they’ve been better than Cardiff. They entered play today in 19th place due to an horrific goal difference. Yet hope springs eternal for one of the Premiership’s “yo-yo” teams, even though this may well be a “down” year.

Yet as I sat down in my seat at St. Andrew’s, I soon had to admit that I wasn’t seeing a 19th placed team. At least not today.

‘Soon’ was defined in this case as 37 seconds, as that’s how long it took Gal Alberman to shake loose and rifle a shot home to get the home team in front. I looked down at Gareth Southgate in the visitors’ technical area and he stood with a look of stunned amazement on his face. Obviously, no one likes to concede so quickly but there was much more in store for him.

Garry O'Connor scored off a corner on 24 minutes and the veteran Shola Ameobi, bought from Newcastle in the August window, scored his first goal for the club seven minutes after that. Boro was holed below the waterline and even though Sanli Tuncay swept home a loose ball four minutes before the break, Bruce’s side had things well in hand.

When O’Connor completed his brace nine minutes from time, I had seen everything I needed to see. While I got an early start on my own drive to Manchester, Birmingham finished up a fine 4-1 win and I know next week we’ll get a highly-motivated opponent who will be ready to take a second consecutive scalp.

# # #

United is getting hot at the right time. A brace from Carlos Tévez and a single goal from Nemanja Vidic more than offset Lubomir Michalik’s first-minute goal at the Reebok for Bolton. Coppell is a solid fourth now. Unfortunately for United, Tévez sprained his ankle late in the match and will be out for about a month.

The only other member of the Big Four in league action today was Liverpool, which couldn’t beat Blackburn at Anfield in a match I think I’d rather have watched instead of the one I got to see. The clubs traded goals throughout, with Steven Gerrard’s opener canceled by Roque Santa Cruz. Then Peter Crouch scored in the second half for Liverpool, only to be countered by Maceo Rigters. Then Yossi Benayoun put Liverpool ahead ten minutes from time only for Santa Cruz to finish his brace in the last minute of regular time.

Spurs showed some signs of life today, using a Roland Juhasz own goal and Robbie Keane’s marker nine minutes from time to sink tail-end Cardiff 2-0 in a win that frankly should have been expected. Martin Jol will take the points, I’m sure.

Omar Bravo scored again for West Brom, Carlton Cole followed up his reserve hat trick against us with a senior goal for West Ham, and the teams battled to a 1-1 draw.

Roland Nilsson may have figured he was in for a long afternoon at Fortress Fratton after Giles Barnes and Joao Carlos both scored for Derby inside the opening four minutes. Pompey settled down after that and Jermain Defoe got them within one in the second half, but they couldn’t close any further and Davies has three vital points as a result.

To find the rest of the Big Four, you had to look at the League Cup semifinals. Arsenal crushed Villa by an amazing 6-1 at Ashburton Grove in one semifinal and Chelsea squeaked a 1-0 win over Everton in the other match at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea gets Liverpool in the semifinals after the champions defeated United in one quarterfinal, while Arsenal meets cup-running Portsmouth in the other two-legged semifinal.

I learned all this on the drive north to Manchester, where I met up with the squad as night fell. I held a team meeting to go over the team sheet for tomorrow and to shore up the mood I wanted to create with my squad.

“This is the weekend that we have to remember we play the ultimate team game,” I said. “Players are being asked to step up and do different things, to fill key roles for this club. I want the performance I see from you tomorrow to show that you can step up and do a job. It’s an important test for us and after the events of this week, we need to show that we won’t be distracted. If you want to be a top-four club, now is the weekend to show it.”

# # #

[Dark_Telepath]

Fantastic story, 10-3, a great inspiration for mine.

[tenthreeleader]

Dark, thank you very much! It's great to know that others appreciate my work but even more so when it leads to additional writing that helps the forum.

As for my trip, internet access costs $9.95 for 24 hours so I don't know if I'll be updating regularly through my return on Sunday. Unlike John Madejski, I don't have bags of cash!

___

Sunday, December 7

Manchester City (6-5-5, 10th place) v Reading (9-7-0, 3rd place) – EPL Match Day #17

I woke this morning to a dismissal of my comments on Rolando Bianchi from the press.

The Press Association’s summary of the Sunday matches claimed I had paid “too much” respect to the City striker and that my team might pay the price for it. “Crisis club Reading tries to maintain its lofty league position,” the story went on. “Time will tell whether Rob Ridgway’s club has the horses to last this particular course.”

“Nothing like a little controversy on match day,” I mused, as I prepared for the team breakfast. Patty called to make sure I was well and truly ready to face the day, and her voice was welcome.

“You’ll be just fine,” she promised. “I’ll be watching.”

# # #

The City of Manchester Stadium is just a lovely venue. Built as the main home for the Commonwealth Games, the re-fitted stadium is now the proud home of a proud club.

Having lived in the footballing shadow of their Manchester neighbors United for some time, the stadium represents what the club hopes is a new beginning.

I had the pleasure of playing at Maine Road, City’s old home, during my career. The passion of the fans in the old Kippax Stand matched anyone else’s in England and while the new stadium has more of an antiseptic feel to it, the noise is certainly still there from the support.

Places like this one, and the Emirates in Ashburton Grove, have sort of a “cookie cutter” feel to them. They obviously don’t have the tradition of a Maine Road or a Highbury, but then it’s up to the clubs to create tradition. Arsenal can surely do it and the expectation of the Shinawatra regime (if you will) is that City will do the same.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, though, has had public disagreements with the ownership this season, with The Guardian reporting more than once on the manager’s feelings in this area. The former England manager wants to return to the very highest levels of club management so his ambition is high. So is his chairman’s – the issue, according to the papers, has been with the City board.

Yuri Zhirkov and David Jones were the two main players to arrive in the August window, and as Emiliani noted in his recent article, Jones hasn’t played as much as people might have expected. Shinawatra dropped just under £20 million on those two players, which makes me wonder whether Eriksson really wanted them in the first place.

As I arrived at the ground and turned in my team sheet, I noted that the £10.25 million acquisition, Zhirkov, wasn’t even in the starting eleven, though Jones was.

I looked at City’s eleven: Isaakson, Richards, Garrido, Corluka, Dunne, Jihai, Fernandes, Jones, Zabaleta, Bianchi, Samaras, and realized they were still quite formidable.

I followed through on my plan from midweek: Oster for Faé and Rosenior in for Sonko with Pogatetz sliding to the middle. There was also this to consider: even though Faé is able to play the holding role, Oster is actually a better defender. Away from home, that might account for something.

There was still a sense of unease as we prepared to play, though. It made me worry even more than usual about the quality of our start, made doubly important by the fact we were playing away.

“This group can get it done,” I reminded them. “You can do it. People will be watching how you react today and I’m confident you will send the right message.” With that, we lined up for the kickoff.

Now that I’m finishing my first trip around the Premiership, I’m finding that the initial reception I get from managers is as much dependent on our relative league position as it is any desire to be sociable to the new kid on the block.

My first meeting with Eriksson was therefore quite correct. As a tactician I admire his work and as a man-manager I have heard his Swedish stoicism tends to help him. As a match manager, in recent years his reputation has taken a bit of a nosedive primarily due to his results with England. But I harbored no illusions.

The teams took the pitch and the match kicked off. From the beginning, we were bright.

# # #

Our determination was rewarded far more quickly than I had a right to expect. Pazienza created our first good scoring chance shortly after kickoff with an artfully weighted lead ball from the center circle to Kitson standing twenty-five yards from goal.

The targetman held the ball for the run of Maloney and slipped the ball through to the raider with a wonderful pass past the sliding Jones. Shaun took the ball into the area and didn’t miss, hammering a shot past Isaakson and home. His seventh goal of an already excellent season was in the net just seventy seconds into the match.

Our reaction was wonderful, a team reaction to a goal created by an excellent three-way passing play. We had started brilliantly, and newly confident, we settled in to defend the lead. It was just like being spotted a goal by the home team and we certainly didn’t argue.

It turned out that we did a lot of defending over the next twenty minutes. Stung to their center, City responded by throwing Jones forward to bolster their attack. Lobont became busy, Samaras and Bianchi started to work very well together, and our goal was soon under siege.

Samaras was first, through a free header from a City corner barely missing Lobont’s top left corner. Then it was Jones, taking a deflected pass, working to the middle and booming a drive that was fortunately straight at the keeper.

Finally, it was Samaras again, taking advantage of a growing disorganization in defense to shave Lobont’s left post with a curling shot right on the half hour. I was seeing alarming signs, and they had little to do with Sonko’s absence.

We weren’t communicating well. Pogatetz has played central defense for us before, though not alongside Bikey, but they train together every day. There shouldn’t have been issues there. Rosenior has been with the club for two years and Ferreira has played quite well.

So to see us give up free headers off corners and allow the City attackers the space they were getting was truly alarming. Also, our lack of a counter-attack option meant that through the first half hour, the only attempt we had had at goal was Maloney’s opening tally.

On 33 minutes, City got the equalizer their play deserved. Ironically, it was Jones who got it, perhaps making a statement for playing time. He finished professionally from a well played wall pass with Samaras, giving Lobont no chance to reach his lower right corner.

Most in the crowd of 46,446 now let us hear their thunder as City had equalized and was now pressing its dominance. We made it to halftime with no further damage done and I knew right away I needed to make some significant adjustment to our shape.

“Okay, fellows, 4-1-3-2 is going out the window,” I said. “Back to basics for the second half with 4-4-2. As asleep as we looked for most of the half, we can still steal this one. Play good, positional defense and look for the counter in the second half because it’s going to be there. They’ll come out strong because they got the equalizer and you have to be ready to meet that challenge.”

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

We weren’t ready to meet that challenge.

Perhaps sensing our formation change, Eriksson frankly stole a march on me by adopting a 4-1-3-2 approach of his own, pushing his men forward looking for the lead.

The flat four-man midfield offered more stability, but City’s increased activity in our half of the pitch meant they started to gain more and more possession in our half of the field.

Their chances continued undiminished. We didn’t allow any more free headers, at least, so that was a step in the right direction. But we also didn’t get Samaras marked when Sun Jihai’s entry ball found him at the top of the D to Lobont’s left. He controlled deftly, switched the ball to his right foot and buried the ball in the back of Lobont’s net for a 2-1 lead to City.

I looked on passively, trying not to betray the emotion I was now starting to feel. It was a feeling of anger mixed with a sense of growing dismay in our performance. I felt like we had shot our bolt with Maloney’s goal and then sat back – resulting in the deficit we now faced.

With no option now, I returned us to a more attacking bent since we were chasing the game. The fans were starting to play a significant role in the match, their noise and singing making communication difficult on the pitch.

Then, our hopes took a real body blow as Dagoberto crumbled, yet again, under a hard challenge from Richard Dunne. Once again he got up gingerly and Lita sprang out of his seat.

I let Leroy warm up but as it became obvious after the hour that Dagoberto couldn’t continue, I had Harper up alongside him.

Harper got the call. “We’re going to 4-3-3 with Kitson up front,” I told him. “Kalou and Oster to support left and right. Take the central role with Pazienza and Maloney and support Shaun. Tell him to get forward.”

The substitution made, my leading scorer again left a match early, this time for treatment of a bruised shin. Now we started to look a little better as we tried for an equalizer.

Oster, even as badly as he wanted to play, wasn’t the real answer on the right side of midfield. Twelve minutes from time, I made my last throw of the dice, bringing on Hunt for Oster and swinging Kalou to the right side of midfield, while Lita’s pace was substituted for the tiring Kitson.

Lita was a better choice as a lone striker in any event, but Hunt and Kalou were right with him and Maloney lurked at the top of the box to pick up any loose balls left over. The move finally kicked us into gear as we hit injury time. Kalou went agonizingly close with a sweeping shot from the right side that at first looked like a cross for Lita but then swerved onto Isaakson in the City goal. The keeper had to be alert to make a good save, and he theatrically patted his heart after palming the ball behind for a corner.

Maloney’s effort swung straight into the middle of the box and Lita’s shot was parried by Isaakson to the right where Micah Richards picked it up, hoofing clear to the right side of midfield to clear his lines.

We had five men forward but no one seemed to figure out where Pablo Zabaleta was, and City countered strongly thanks to open space. Zabaleta stormed forward with Rosenior in hot pursuit, but the City player simply cut back inside and squared into the box.

There was Bianchi, waiting to sidefoot home after slipping Bikey as his marker, and it was 3-1 to City.

The points assured, the home support started to wish us a happy trip back to Berkshire. Once the ball was placed back in the center circle, Pazienza simply decided to take it straight up Route One.

He stormed forward, threw a head fake onto Jones, and slid the ball right into Lita’s path. The supersub took the ball smartly and drilled it past Isaakson deep into injury time to make it 3-2 – and Lita took the ball back to the center circle at a dead sprint.

That impressed me. Unfortunately, we were out of time. The unbeaten streak was over and the consequences of our first league loss will not be pleasant from more than one standpoint.

Manchester City 3 (Jones 2nd, 33; Samaras 8th 55; Bianchi 6th, 90+2)

Reading 2 (Maloney 7th, 1; Lita 6th 90+3)

A – 46,446, City of Manchester Stadium

Man of the Match – Rolando Bianchi, Manchester City

# # #

[weeeman27bob]

Oh no!

Watch out Reading, Rob isn't going to be Mr. Nice guy.

[SCIAG]

Strange coincidence, Zabaleta being at City. There always seem to be those in a save.

Great writing 10-3, I would say keep it up but you've done it for long enough to not be told

[stoehrst]

A loss was bound to happen sometime. Chin up, Rob Ridgway!

[dan_simmonds]

10-3, just wanted to drop you a quick line and tell you how fantastic your work really is. I have been following Rat Pack for a while, but today I went back and read American Calcio in one sitting, it was really that excellent and a deserved winner of Story of the Year. Keep up the great work!

[tenthreeleader]

Gentlemen, thank you and Dan, welcome to the Rat Pack! I must say ... it took me something along the order of nine months to write Calcio so to have you start and finish it in one day means a lot. Thank you for your kind words!

Okay, probably my last post on this until Sunday. Rob isn't in a very good mood ...

___

The inquisition began. “Could you have won if you had played Sonko?” Weatherby asked.

“I understand that is the natural question,” I said. “Ibrahima has been very steady for us all season but obviously has been unsettled with the events of this week. Other members of the squad were equally unsettled so it was my decision to sit those players down today.”

”But could you have won?”

“Possibly, but Manchester City played a very good game today for all 90 minutes. I’m not prepared to sell their effort short. They played better than we did, they were the better team and they walked out with three points. Can’t say much more than that.”

“How will you change the squad for next week against Birmingham? And more important, how will you settle them again?”

“Last time I checked I still had a whole senior squad under contract,” I said. “I’m going to watch the video on the way back to Berkshire tonight, see where we went wrong and work on fixing it for next week.”

“Three more conceded,” Hopkins said. “Are you at all concerned about the state of your defense?”

“We’re in the middle of the pack in goals conceded,” I pointed out. “However, we’ve been scoring a ton of goals so that has made up for some things I’d really like to get corrected. Are we playing as well as we can off the ball? No. Are we playing as well as we can when the other team has the ball? No. So we’ll work on fixing those things.”

“When do you plan to play Sonko and Faé again?”

“When they are both match-fit and mentally ready to play. Not before.”

There didn’t appear to be any other questions so I made a statement.

“I thought Bianchi was pretty good,” I offered. “Better than any of you would have thought before the match, I suppose.”

Then I left.

# # #

| Pos   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Arsenal       | 16    | 12    | 1     | 3     | 30    | 12    | +18   | 37    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Chelsea       | 16    | 9     | 7     | 0     | 27    | 7     | +20   | 34    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Man Utd       | 17    | 10    | 4     | 3     | 29    | 16    | +13   | 34    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|[b] 4th   | Reading       | 17    | 9     | 7     | 1     | 36    | 24    | +12   | 34 [/b]   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | Liverpool     | 17    | 8     | 6     | 3     | 30    | 17    | +13   | 30    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | West Ham      | 17    | 9     | 1     | 7     | 28    | 28    | 0     | 28    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   | Man City      | 17    | 7     | 5     | 5     | 19    | 18    | +1    | 26    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   | Aston Villa   | 16    | 6     | 6     | 4     | 24    | 19    | +5    | 24    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   | Tottenham     | 17    | 7     | 3     | 7     | 26    | 25    | +1    | 24    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  | Bolton        | 17    | 7     | 3     | 7     | 23    | 23    | 0     | 24    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  | Everton       | 16    | 4     | 9     | 3     | 17    | 14    | +3    | 21    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  | Portsmouth    | 17    | 5     | 6     | 6     | 29    | 27    | +2    | 21    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  | Blackburn     | 17    | 6     | 2     | 9     | 23    | 29    | -6    | 20    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  | Middlesbrough | 17    | 6     | 1     | 10    | 24    | 30    | -6    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  | Charlton      | 16    | 4     | 7     | 5     | 21    | 29    | -8    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  | Derby         | 17    | 4     | 4     | 9     | 22    | 31    | -9    | 16    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  | Newcastle     | 16    | 3     | 5     | 8     | 19    | 26    | -7    | 14    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | West Brom     | 17    | 3     | 5     | 9     | 23    | 33    | -10   | 14    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | Birmingham    | 17    | 4     | 2     | 11    | 16    | 29    | -13   | 14    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | Cardiff       | 17    | 1     | 2     | 14    | 6     | 35    | -29   | 5     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[salkster2102]

all good things must come to an end unfortunately. unlucky mate. feel sorry for your next opponents though.

[JimT]

Enjoying this as much as ever. KUTGW

[archie#10]

“We’re in the middle of the pack in goals conceded,” I pointed out. “However, we’ve been scoring a ton of goals so that has made up for some things I’d really like to get corrected. Are we playing as well as we can off the ball? No. Are we playing as well as we can when the other team has the ball? No. So we’ll work on fixing those things.”

[/font]

Love the manager asking and answering his own questions at the press conference. Top read mate

[tenthreeleader]

salkster, I suppose the first loss was inevitable, even as much as it annoys ... Jim, as always I'm delighted that you enjoy the work and take time to post ... and archie, never let it be said that Rob Ridgway didn't offer full service to his friends in the media! Just saving them some time

___

Monday, December 8

Yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day in the States. I guess I could understand how those who were there might have felt – at least from a media standpoint.

It started with the Post and its online headline, which was a bit of a reach. Over a picture of Jones scoring City’s opener, the headline “East(lands)Enders” referred to City's ending of our league unbeaten run.

The worst of it is that we’re now fourth, dropping behind United on goal difference. The loss only cost us one place in the table so far, but it’s important that I figure out how to stop the rot before Birmingham’s arrival on Saturday.

It’s important for more reasons than just the cosmetic. Arsenal plays Chelsea this weekend at the Emirates in a battle of one versus two and the whole nation will be watching the London derby. I’m pulling hard for a draw in that match, for obvious reasons.

After Saturday’s match we are off until Boxing Day, so we’ll get a chance to rest and refit. However, that December 26 match is at Anfield, so I’ll want the squad in a better frame of mind than it’s in right now.

Dagoberto’s injury was minor and he’ll train with the rest of the squad tomorrow. He couldn’t go at full speed during the match, but he says he’s taken similar knocks like that in the past and carried on. So I’ll hold him to his word.

The senior squad met today and I made them watch the entire City match over again. The message when I was finished was clear: that’s enough of that.

“We’re entering an important phase,” I explained after the video was done. “We have a big match coming up at home this weekend to Birmingham and then we get ready for the holidays. We have some big stuff coming up – Liverpool in the league and Arsenal in the FA Cup for one and two – and we’ll need to be prepared. It’s a time of year when people start thinking about other things.”

“You can’t let your focus wander, not now,” I said. “When we break for the holidays I want to it to be on a winning note so we can enjoy what we’ve worked to build. Defeating Birmingham is obviously key to it. You’ve seen how poorly we can play – now let’s work on starting a new streak.”

Then I paused. “I didn’t show you this match again to punish you,” I said. “I showed it to you to send a message. You don’t want to look like that again anytime soon. You’ve got it within you to press on and get back on track – but each of us has to step up and make the commitment. I know you can do it.”

# # #

Unfortunately, Richmond hasn’t given up yet.

He went to Madejski this morning and reiterated his desire for a Director of Football, this time claiming that my mishandling of the Sonko situation led directly to yesterday’s loss.

That’s simplistic. I think Manchester City had a lot to do with yesterday’s loss, even if we didn’t play at anywhere near the level at which we are capable. I told Madejski when he called to let me know about the conversation that to suggest Sonko’s absence cost us the match would be a slap at Pogatetz that I didn’t want to take.

“Emanuel changed positions to accommodate the club and I am pleased that he did,” I said. “We lost yesterday for a number of reasons. I’m not prepared to single out individual players.”

Of course, someone also leaked information about the meeting to the media – wonder who that could have been – so I had to deal with the issue twice. To save time, I used the same words, but made an addition for the media:

“Fourteen players stepped onto the pitch yesterday – eleven starters and three substitutes – and were guided by a manager and an assistant manager. I’m not prepared to say that any one of them, or anyone on the bench, won or lost the match. You don’t ask me those kinds of questions when we win so I’ll thank you not to ask them after a match like yesterday’s. It’s not fair to the team.”

“When will Sonko play again?” Same question as yesterday.

“When I decide he’s ready,” I said, giving the same answer as yesterday.

“How is the morale of the squad?”

“Good,” I said. “We went sixteen league matches without losing so I’d say the players are still in a good frame of mind. No one likes losing, though, so I’d expect some angry players today. That’s part of the game. Sometimes losing can stop any complacency in a squad, though obviously my job is to make sure losing doesn’t become a habit.”

The players you substituted into the eleven yesterday didn’t bear out your confidence,” I was informed.

“Really? In what way?”

“In that they didn’t play well?”

“Perhaps you could tell me which parts of my confidence were betrayed. I’m curious to know,” I said, my hackles rising. “I told you that I’m not going to single out any one player for our first loss but if you want it repeated, fine. I’ll repeat it.”

“What does this do to Mr. Richmond’s call for a Director of Football?”

“Ask the chairman. He’ll tell you. But I’ll say that if Mr. Richmond wants a major management position added after one loss, it would spell a significant shift in the club’s culture. But Mr. Madejski has the final say on that.”

“What would you do if a director were hired?”

“There isn’t one, so the question is moot. Next.”

# # #

[Kewell08]

I think you should assault them and go to jail. Worked for me :confused:

Keep it up.

[Goofus]

That would certainly put a damper on things.

[tenthreeleader]

Kewell, I don't know if Rob could find a sympathetic Home Secretary for a triumphant return ...

___

Tuesday, December 9

I’m of two minds as to when I should restore Sonko to the eleven.

Training-wise he is doing fine, and appears ready to resume his place. But there’s also the matter of re-introducing him before a home crowd when there’s so much controversy about whether he really wants to wear the colors.

Today’s fans expect loyalty from players and one of the big hot buttons for most fans I know is what happens when loyalty given isn’t returned by a player. Sonko publicly said he wanted to stay, and that’s fine, but at the moment I’m sure there are fans who don’t believe him.

Today, therefore, I spent some media time asking the fans to back Sonko whenever he returns. “He’s been public about his desire to stay and I have no reason not to take him at his word,” I said. “He wants to play and the only way for him to prove his loyalty to the club is to give him the chance, sooner or later. It won’t help if he gets a rough ride.”

“Might take some of the heat off you, too,” Weatherby said.

“Heat,” I said. “We have nine wins and seven draws in seventeen matches and there’s heat? All right, then, fine.”

They’re reaching. Anything for a headline.

# # #

Perhaps the biggest shock of tonight’s Champions League matches is that Bayern Munich is out of the competition.

Needing a result at Anfield, the German champions have no one to blame but themselves for leaving qualification that late. In the last round of pool play, Bayern fell 3-1 to a Liverpool side that will surely be tuned up to face us on the 26th.

Bayern fell into the UEFA Cup as a result, with the surprise second qualifier from that group being Celtic, which defeated Zilina 2-0 this evening to advance to the knockout stages.

United played a meaningless match tonight at Inter and lost 2-0. But they’ve already qualified, so Steve Coppell could rest some of his regulars for Saturday’s Premiership match against Portsmouth.

The rumors are starting to fly again, as the January window marches inexorably closer. Today’s headline in the Mirror claimed Barcelona is about to launch a £52 million bid for Kolo Toure. Arsene Wenger wasted no time in rubbishing the report, but now that it’s in the open he will have a lot of trouble getting it to rest. Believe me, after the events of the last week I know just how hard it can be.

There was also news about two other players I saw last season. Goalkeeper Antonio Mirante of Juventus may be allowed to leave in search of first team football and I was very glad to see he made the scouts’ shortlist for the window.

Also, winger Mariano Bocigliano may leave Napoli. He’s a polished talent and he’s been linked with West Brom. I’ve seen him play and would consider trying to spoil a bid from Mowbray if the price was right. With Faé offering spotty performances on the right side of my midfield, perhaps Kalou could switch to that side and give me a pretty dynamic midfield if the Italian came to play for us.

Milan is expected to bid for Chelsea’s defender Alex in the coming window, as he’s not getting a game in the middle of the best defense in the Premiership. A change of scenery might do him good and the last thing Chelsea needs is even more money.

It’s getting to be that time of year again.

# # #

Patty finally managed to get a word in edgewise tonight about her parents’ visit over Christmas.

“I’ve made all the reservations,” she said, trying to switch my mind to more pleasant subjects, such as getting verbally bludgeoned by my father-in-law over Yuletide. Yes, much more appetizing, that.

“So what is the plan?”

“They’re flying in a week from Saturday,” she said. “They’re going to stay for a week.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “And when do I have the summit meeting with your dad?”

“Hopefully, you don’t,” she said. “I talked with my mom for about an hour today and told her that I need this to go well. I don’t want any worries over my Christmas and she said she’d keep Dad under control.”

“You’ll pardon me if I’m a cynic,” I smiled, and she gave me a playful smack on the arm.

“Please,” she said. “I have no reason to believe my mom won’t tell the truth. Do you?”

“Of course not,” I said. As poorly as I’ve gotten along with Martin, I seem to have done quite well in terms of the mother-in-law I’ve got. How many men can say that?

# # #

[Kewell08]

Weatherby... those conniving journalist types. And I thought she was on your side!

[tenthreeleader]

You never know about media, Kewell ... sometimes they can surprise you.

___

Wednesday, December 10

In fact, my relationship with my mother-in-law is good enough for me to call her today on my own.

I’m surprised, in a way, that I didn’t think of the idea sooner. Patty’s words of last night were well spoken and this afternoon, after I got home from training, I took the chance.

The day started well enough – Weatherby handled my request for a good reception for Sonko in the manner I had hoped she would. Her story showed she knows how to read between the lines:

Manager Rob Ridgway may well be ready to restore Ibrahima Sonko to the eleven for Saturday’s contest against Birmingham at the Madejski Stadium.

Speaking at his daily media briefing yesterday, the manager continued to defend his decision to pull Sonko from the squad in Sunday’s loss at Manchester City. However, Ridgway left the door open for the defender’s return to good grace by asking for a calm reception from fans when he does return.

There’s no doubt that Reading are a different team when Sonko is paired with André Bikey in the center of defense. The two have developed a superior understanding and when one is gone, as was the case Sunday, the whole back line suffers.

Ridgway is doubtless aware that he has little choice but to return the defender to the eleven when he is fit and ready to play. However, he seems insistent that Sonko’s return be on his terms – which is certainly his right as manager. Yesterday’s announcement is likely an attempt to pave the way.

I knew there was a reason I like Weatherby. For one thing, she seems able to read my mind almost as well as my wife in terms of putting my thoughts and opinions in context. And that’s saying something.

# # #

Thing of it is, Sonko probably will return to the lineup for Saturday. That isn’t because Pogatetz did a bad job in the middle. It’s because I need him on the left.

Rosenior didn’t do a bad job against City, but he’s been all over the board in terms of his form and I can’t have that when my absolute priority on Saturday must be a clean sheet. We haven’t held an opponent off the scoreboard since October 25 against Blackburn. For a team with European aspirations, that’s frankly embarrassing.

We just don’t seem able to cut off opposing teams when they reach decent positions on the pitch. We’ve been together for half a season now so the tactics are installed and the players have good understanding. Maybe personnel are an issue.

I’d hate to have to admit that – I’m not terribly keen to make changes to my first Reading squad in terms of the players I inherited – but to take the next step, I may have to take a good, hard look at some of the players I’ve got.

Offensively we’ve been brilliant so I will have to consider a number of factors, my tactics being among them. 4-1-3-2 has offered some amazingly fluent attacking football and I daresay has given the opportunity of a lifetime to Shaun Maloney, but when I admit it to myself, I’d much rather win 2-1 than 3-2. Seems odd on its surface, but I know full well that you can’t live and die by the shootout – not in this league. The averages will catch up with us and we’ll be the poorer for it. We must improve at the back.

Today’s training was therefore defensive in nature. The players know my general defensive expectations aren’t being met, with the exception of Lobont who has been absolutely fantastic. Without him, I don’t think we’d even be in the top half of the table since all our matches would end 4-4.

It’s a testament to how good the league is that even with defensive players far superior to what I had at Padova, we can’t seem to shut off the spigot against some of the teams we play. You have to have other ways to win, and thankfully for us we’ve been able to score goals.

I watched training from a platform above the training pitch as we did half-field defensive drills. I was looking for clues as to why we have been carved open so frequently over the last month – and as was the case the last time I did this, I couldn’t fault positioning, I couldn’t fault spacing, and I couldn’t fault the depth of our back line. I think I’ll have to play the level of the line a touch closer to the midfield since we don’t often get beat for pace or over the top, but on the whole we look organized and where we’re supposed to be on the pitch.

So I stood there, lost in thought, while my players soldiered on.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

“Paula, this is just driving me insane. I have to get some resolution on this.”

“I don’t blame you,” my mother-in-law replied. “Martin seems to have a wild streak when it comes to you and I can’t figure it out.”

“Can’t you talk with him?” I said. “I mean, it’s not like I’m a rotten husband or a poor provider for Patty. I can do that, even though she can provide for me if everything goes right, it seems.”

She laughed in reply. “It has nothing to do with those things,” she said. “He just thinks you’re too wrapped up in a sport he doesn’t like to take what he thinks is proper care of Patty. You know that’s false and I know that’s false. The only thing that will solve this dispute is the passage of time.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do at Christmas when he’s here and enough time presumably hasn’t passed?” I asked.

“Make the best of it,” she said. “It’s Christmas. I promised Patty I’d make sure World War III didn’t start over the Christmas holiday. What I’d like to do is simply celebrate your growing family and enjoy the thought of being a grandmother.”

“I’d enjoy some celebrating too,” I said. “The stress over here has been pretty high over the last couple of weeks.”

I’ve got ten days to prepare for the visit, and also prepare for Christmas, my favorite time of the entire year. Despite my known loathing of cold and snow, I actually enjoyed this time of year back home. And considering how miserable I was last year at this time, I’m determined that my first Christmas with Patty will be one to remember.

So after training, I went off to the Oracle to do some serious power-shopping.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Thursday, December 11

Chelsea performed under pressure last night – to the surprise of virtually no one.

In a Champions League group where all four teams were tied in the table entering the last round of matches, Avram Grant’s men won 3-0 at Standard Liege to reach the knockout stages. It was harder than I’m sure Grant expected it to be over the six-game preliminary round, but the depth and quality of his side showed through.

My old club, Rangers, wasn’t quite as fortunate. In a qualifying group with Juventus and Arsenal, it was always going to be a big ask, but their 1-1 draw at Rapid Bucharest means they parachute into the UEFA Cup.

Juve held on to beat Arsenal 2-1 last night at Delle Alpi, but the Gunners won the group anyway. Both those teams are through to the knockout rounds.

Meanwhile, Villa continued to roll this evening on the domestic front, getting a second-half injury time goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor to defeat Charlton 1-0 at the Valley. That sets the stage for the weekend’s matches, which have a couple of key contests in addition to our own.

As I’ve mentioned, Arsenal hosts Chelsea and United hosts Pompey. But Liverpool is coming on strong again, and will travel to the northeast to face Middlesbrough getting uncomfortably close to us in the table.

I really wouldn’t mind a margin of more than three points between the sides when we go to Anfield on Boxing Day. To get that margin, though, or to keep our current one, we’ll have to perform light years better than we did against City.

I’m starting to think the players get that idea now. I hardly cracked a smile all the way through training today, and I’m the sort of manager who believes in positive reinforcement whenever and wherever possible.

That isn’t to say I’m riding them into the ground, because recovery after a loss can sometimes be man-management raised to an art form. I want intense training but done in a positive way.

My standards are also higher than normal, and I think that’s natural after a loss. I want the players focused on how they can improve their game to stay in the side, and after a loss is when most managers will make changes.

I’m making one that I know of: Sonko is definitely coming back. He’s ready, he’s training very well this week, and he’s anxious to show he’s committed to the club. Fine. I’ll give him that opportunity and we’ll see how it goes.

# # #

I arrived home to find my wife on the phone with Eaton in London.

“I have family plans over the holidays but after that, we can certainly talk about it,” she said as I walked into the room. “I do need to know how long I’d be gone.”

She listened for a moment and remained silent. “Well, at least the offer is on paper now. Still, that’s a long time,” she finally said. “Rob and I will need to discuss it.”

Not wanting to pry, I left the room, sitting down in my easy chair. Yesterday Patty got an interview offer from the online VIVmag magazine regarding her pregnancy – frankly, in the two weeks since Eaton’s statement I might have expected such offers to come a bit sooner, given her status – and I wondered if that was a cause of the distress in her voice.

Soon she returned, though, and sat next to me in her favorite chair as though nothing had happened.

We sat for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything. Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer.

“How long, and where?” I asked.

“Six weeks, and Los Angeles,” she answered, proving my initial supposition to have been wrong. “I’m getting an offer from IMG and if it goes through I’m going to have a couple of pretty significant shoots to do.”

Then she smiled. “Before I start to show, that is.”

# # #

[gaz_man]

Brilliant writing 10-3, always look forward to the next post of yours, just to see what twists and turns you're gonna throw in

[tenthreeleader]

gaz_man, thanks very much ... hoping to keep the group entertained!

___

Friday, December 12

I spent part of this afternoon chatting with Steve Bruce.

Birmingham arrived late this afternoon to prepare for tomorrow’s clash at the Madejski and while his players had a quick look around the stadium and his kit men prepared the visiting changing room, I had a chance to compare notes with a Manchester United legend.

It has to be hard being in his position. The supporters and the top brass at his club have ambition, but the team is one right on the cusp of Premier League survival from one year to the next. When you go up, you get extra money and can keep your players. When you drop, you have to occasionally sell your best players and hope the parachute payments you get can keep you afloat long enough to either get back or adjust to reduced budgets.

Yo-yo teams have it tough as a result, and I think to manage one you have to be a level-headed individual. I look at someone like Dario Gradi of Crewe, who had a marvelous tenure filled with both success and failure, and marvel at his calm – and at the faithful support of his board.

So talking with Bruce was a pleasure. He is of course coming off a very solid win last weekend that I saw in person, so there was no reason for him to be anything but pleased. What he isn’t, is satisfied. No 19th placed manager would be, and so when we talked, it was about how to drag his team out of the hole.

“We’re close enough to Newcastle to put pressure on them if we can get results,” he said, noting that the current three-way tie for 17th place is on goal difference. “It’s far from hopeless.”

“With half the season remaining, I should certainly think so,” I answered.

“You’ve done a great job here,” Bruce said, and I blushed in reply.

“I came to a good situation,” I said. “I haven’t had to spend a ton on players and those who I did buy have done a great job. As far as the squad goes, I’m pleased.”

“Maloney is probably the buy of the year, considering what you paid.”

“He’s been great,” I admitted. “And no, I don’t want to sell him.”

Bruce chuckled in reply. “Well, so much for that,” he smiled, now turning back to his team. “All the best tomorrow.”

“You too, Steve,” I answered, as we shook hands. We both need ‘the best’ tomorrow, and in the worst way.

# # #

The speculation over the January window continues to blaze, and it wouldn’t be a transfer window unless the name of Cristiano Ronaldo came up in conversation.

This time is isn’t Real Madrid as the potential suitor – Emiliani reported today that Inter is planning a huge bid for United’s Portguese thunderbolt. I expect Coppell will have the same reaction he did in August – just directed at a different person.

Kolo Toure is reportedly a target for still-struggling Barcelona in January, and today the player said he was flattered. While not in the straits of recent months, Barca is fighting to stay in the top half of La Liga. That is just a mystery to me, quite frankly. However, Arsene Wenger wasted no time in shooting down the transfer rumors – or at least trying to.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s Alex has said that at the end of the day, not getting a game at Stamford Bridge isn’t so good for his career. So he wouldn’t mind considering Milan. Villareal has come out in open admiration of Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz. I wouldn’t mind that at all since it would get him out of our league, but Mark Hughes is understandably perturbed.

Middlesbrough’s Robert Huth has had enough of his surroundings as well, according to the local papers. If something silly did happen with Sonko, I’d consider swooping for Huth.

Today, though, my press gaggle centered around two players – one I’d actually like to bring in and another I have no intention of allowing to leave.

Weatherby smiled as she opened the questioning after a light training session. “We hear Sam Allardyce is ready to bid for Leroy Lita,” she said.

“Good for Sam,” I smiled. “I’ve got a player under a multi-year contract who is doing a tremendous job in his role and I’m really happy with him. So I’m not interested in selling Leroy. And yes, you can print that.”

“All right, Rob, then what’s this we hear about you being interested in John Fleck of Rangers?”

“Very, very nice young player,” I said. “I’ll probably raise my friend Walter Smith’s eyebrows when I say this, but John is going to be a very good player and I’m following him quite closely. Other than that, I can’t comment.”

Which was the same as commenting, of course. I expect I’ll get an earful from Ibrox tomorrow.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Saturday, December 13

Reading (9-7-1, 4th place) v Birmingham (4-2-11, 19th place) – EPL Match Day #18

I saw it coming, and it came today when I saw the Star's headline today with Rangers' reaction to my comments about John Fleck.

Their clever headline, over a picture of me next to a picture of Fleck, was “Poke in the I(brox)”.

Walter Smith noted that I was indeed his friend in his reply to media, but mentioned that I might well want to shy away from the young man John Fleck in my transfer speculation. Which, I supposed, stopped him from using stronger language.

For the time being, I will. However, I’m quite interested in the lad and if he keeps developing I will almost certainly make a bid. Along with many others, I’m sure. He’s a prodigious talent and if I don’t bid for him then someone else will.

I smiled at the headline even if I didn’t appreciate Walter’s sentiment, as Patty prepared for a match day out with her husband. We haven’t had a lot of time for each other this week and both of us felt badly about that as we prepared to go to the ground.

About the only time I’ve spent with her has been in helping her after bouts of morning sickness. That hasn’t been fun, but she’s been busy this week and I’ve been preoccupied. We both noted it and we talked it through on the way.

“How about we find a nice quiet little restaurant for a pre-Christmas party before my folks arrive?” she suggested.

“I don’t want to invite a guest list,” I said, as she shifted in her seat to more comfortable position.

“No guest list,” she said, sliding her hand into mine. “Only two.”

I smiled over at her and thought through the events of the last few weeks. I really am a lucky man. She’s been frightfully busy and worried about more things than even I can keep in the air at the moment. Yet she’s here, she’s steadfast and as we held hands on the way to the ground, it was a very special thing to realize.

She’s also going to quit her office job – something I suggested she do from the beginning – if and when the IMG arrangement is made. Obviously she couldn’t go to Los Angeles with anything approaching a clear conscience while in that job – so she’s getting ready to leave a place that I personally thought was wrong for her from the beginning.

As much as I enjoy the time I’m having here at Reading, I’m ready to step away for a few days as well, and the Christmas holiday is the perfect time for it. Of course, I’ll pay for it in the period right after Christmas, but that’s for the future. Liverpool looms large on the horizon – and the fact that we’ll be traveling on Christmas Day is a downer too – but for the time being I’m going to enjoy the holiday season.

If I were home I’d be in snow up to my waist and cursing the cold. But here, I’m going to enjoy the time near one of the world’s largest cities and simply take in the view. But business had to come first.

# # #

The column Waters had ghostwritten for me for the match program said the right things. The one thing I told him when he started taking on this task for me was that he couldn’t be a “Master of the Obvious” and then sign my name to it.

I didn’t want to read something along the lines of “we got abused at City last weekend so now we’re looking to bounce back today in front of you fine fans.” Thankfully, that wasn’t what I viewed.

He had started: “No one in our colours…” I appreciated his work on my spelling.

He went on: “…was satisfied with the result last weekend at Eastlands. We have worked very hard to put a team on the pitch that will make you proud and last weekend we didn’t live up to that expectation.”

That was a heavy thing to say, but he was right because he had paid careful attention to my post-match comments. He finished by saying that we’re rededicated and want to establish momentum for the holiday fixtures by winning at home. Bland, but accurate.

I tossed the match program (excuse me: programme) onto my desk and filled out the final team sheet to present to the referee. The players were now arriving as well and the changing room started to come to life.

# # #

[mark wilson27]

Brilliant as always 10/3...really enjoying the read

[tenthreeleader]

Thank you as always, Mark! Now off to the match ..

__

I made two changes to the eleven from the City match: Sonko was one, and Lita was the other. He deserved a chance to play ninety minutes in my mind, and Dagoberto’s hot streak is pretty much over. So I started him on the bench. And it was quiet in the room.

I don’t allow televisions on in the room before a match once the squad has reported – afterwards is fine if we’ve won, but I don’t want anything distracting the players from their jobs at hand. So the atmosphere was entirely professional as the players prepared for the match.

I’d have expected nothing less coming off a loss. When they were all ready, I stood in the center of our room and gave the players their assignment for the day.

“Fundamentals, gentlemen,” I said. “We got away from that a little bit in Manchester last weekend and we got exposed. Then we got beat. Nobody in this room wants to make a habit of that, so let’s remember what got us that unbeaten streak to start the season and get back to those things. Work hard for each other, work hard for your shirt and above all let’s get the strikers closed down this weekend, okay?”

I saw looks of mild amusement on the defenders’ faces – and that was what I wanted to see. Despite the loss last weekend we entered the match as heavy favorites. I didn’t want any more pressure on the players so loosening them up was key in my mind.

We were as prepared as we would get, and the fact that their team sheet indicated 4-5-1 to me was reason to smile from a defensive standpoint. We took the pitch, and I waited for the reaction to Sonko, who was in the eleven today.

It was nice to see that the fans listened to the manager. Their reaction wasn’t rapturous, but they gave him a polite ovation when his name was announced in the starting eleven. So far, so good.

We took the pitch to AC/DC’s classic Thunderstruck, but with the weather being what it was, Winter Wonderland might have been a better choice. It was borderline frigid when we finally kicked off.

Once the match started, the visitors showed 4-5-1 right away, with Garry O’Connor the lone ranger up front. On a cold day, it seemed like it took everyone a little longer to get started. Just a few minutes after kickoff, a surprisingly bitter wind began to blow and it swirled around the field, making passing the ball in the air a real adventure.

Our plan for the day was to keep the ball down and play it anyway, looking for possession on our home ground. However, less than ten minutes into the game we got away from our plan and that changed things profoundly.

Faé broke free down the right and looked for the run of Kitson in the Birmingham penalty area, but provided service through the air. Kitson and Liam Ridgewell went up for the ball and clashed heads. Kitson fell hard and hit his head against the ground.

Immediately, the wave came to the bench as Birmingham’s Franck Quedreue put the ball into touch. The fact that it was Quedreue doing the waving gave me pause, and he was waving to our bench. Kitson lay on his back holding his head in his hands, but was still conscious. Ridgewell wasn’t feeling so hot either, but was at least in a sitting position.

I knew what had happened and so did just about everyone else in the park – Kitson was concussed and the only question was how severe the injury was.

Lita was already in the match, of course, and now Dagoberto prepared to enter just nine minutes into the contest. Obviously in terms of pure striking talent we weren’t losing anything but we were losing the “big-little” combination I tend to favor in this alignment.

Dagoberto came on and it hardly mattered. Both teams still struggled with the cold – until the seventeen-minute mark.

Then, I was digging into my bench again after Ferreira’s collision with Charlie Adam. The two also clashed heads but Ferreira’s fall was moderately better than Kitson’s. He too held his head, but after another examination by the physios it soon became apparent that his injury wasn’t as bad.

He was developing a powerful headache, though, so off he came while I got Halls ready to play. Having burned two substitutions within the first twenty minutes, my fervent hope was that we wouldn’t have to chase the game. I also hoped we wouldn’t need to call on the 4077th M*A*S*H by halftime.

The first half was really dire. More than once I wondered if Emiliani was seeing or watching this game, because if he was, what he complained about seeing from us at Charlton was nothing by comparison. I can honestly say that neither side carved out anything like a useful chance in the entire first half.

The crowd was about as numb as the players, and the reaction at halftime was nearly one of apathy from people who were used to seeing better.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

From my point of view, though, the score was still drawn and we were right in the match despite being two players down through injury. While the players thawed themselves out in the changing room, I elected to stay positive.

“Look, I know we can see our breath out there but now’s not the time to knuckle under,” I said. “We’ve had a couple of changes to our team already but there’s no reason you can’t go out there and break them down. Their 4-5-1 is hardly hurting you and I expect them to keep that shape until you show them you can beat it. They’re looking for one point today, fellows. That’s it. We’re looking for three. Move the ball into space, be patient and remember that hard running at least keeps you warm.”

That drew tired grins from most of my players, and as I headed to my office to let Dillon continue with the tactical part of the team talk, the hardest part of the talking was already done.

# # #

Warmed up in the changing room, our play in the second half started ice-cold again. Birmingham actually came up with the first good chance of the match on 49 minutes when Adam’s tantalizing cross was just inches too far ahead of the diving O’Connor, the Scotsmen combining to see the striker’s lunge tip the ball gently into Lobont’s hands.

At least it was something. It woke us up a bit, with my reminder to the squad that our visitors were in fact playing with only one up front reminding us of our obligation as the home team to carry the play.

Kalou then got us going a bit, putting a very useful ball into the box on the ensuing sequence up the pitch, crossing for Lita. Had he been as tall as Kitson, he might have gotten his head to the ball but since he’s not, the cross wound up going behind for a goal kick.

While weighing the temporary relative benefits of human growth hormone versus a lengthy suspension for advocating it, I watched play resume.

Like a churning locomotive spinning its wheels until they finally heat up and grab the track, our attack started to raise a little smoke. Dagoberto got us our first attempt on goal of the match a few moments later, striking from just outside the area only for Almunia to collect comfortably in the Birmingham goal.

But it was something. Which was better than we were doing, expressed by the mathematical equation squat/thrust.

Then we started to play with a little more drive, and Pazienza started to make his mark on the match. I found it a bit odd that it would take the Italian to get us going on a chilly English winter afternoon, but his crunching tackle on Fabrice Muamba won the ball and won it cleanly while sending a message at the same time.

Pazienza quickly moved the ball ahead to Dagoberto, who had come relatively deep to help, and the Brazilian moved forward with the ball at his feet, something he doesn’t often do.

He then did something else he doesn’t ordinarily do, mainly because the lead players in my tactic were at that moment reversed in their proper spots on the pitch. Dagoberto looked right, and turned playmaker. He played the ball onto Maloney, in a case where the raider was in front of his forward.

Almunia saw the danger and saw Maloney breaking past his marker, with Radek Sirl hopelessly trailing him. He came forward, trying to beat Maloney to the ball – and he didn’t make it.

Shaun rounded him, and my Scotsman calmly did what their two Scotsmen couldn’t moments before. He slotted home for his eighth goal of the season on 58 minutes to finally break the deadlock.

The fans now had a reason to cheer other than for basic warmth needs, and I wondered how our visitors would react now that they had to come out of their shell.

It turned out that Birmingham’s attack was like the old children’s song: “Here comes another one, just like the other one … Here comes another one, all night long!” They stayed in 4-5-1, but seemed to be of the opinion that passing the ball faster might open us up.

Unfortunately for them, it then began to rain. At about the 65-minute mark, the Madejski Stadium became a most unpleasant place to watch a football match. Bruce’s side now had to find a way forward into a sky that could best be described as gathering gloom, which is never a fun thing to contemplate.

Still, they huffed and puffed, and finally made their first move of the match on 81 minutes as the veteran Shola Ameobi came on for Adam. That also brought Birmingham up to two strikers, as Bruce was evidently now in the mood to try to smash and grab one point instead of three.

“Fine with me,” I thought, watching the proceedings from a quite safe 4-4-2 with my players ready to counter when the opportunity presented itself. We had had our moment of brilliance and now it was time to dare the visitors to find theirs.

Four minutes later, I brought on Harper for Lita, shifted to my own 4-5-1 and dared Birmingham to do its worst. Two minutes after that, Bruce substituted off two of his defenders and stayed in 4-4-2. Three minutes of regular time and three minutes of added time later, it was all over.

Thank goodness. I was frozen to the bone.

Reading 1 (Maloney 8th, 58)

Birmingham 0

A – 24,142, Madejski Stadium, Reading

Man of the Match – Shaun Maloney, Reading (3)

# # #

The changing room always seems warmer after you’ve won, and the players were willing to bask in the glow of a hard-earned, if not especially artistic, triumph as well as the glow of central heating.

“That’s the way to come back from a loss, men,” I said, as the players finished sharing their congratulations. “You weren’t at your best today but you were better than last week and I’m pleased with the effort. Now we figure out how to return to our usual offensive standard but before we do that, we’re going to have a holiday.”

That drew a cheer as loud as winning the match.

# # #

“No, I really can’t think of much I’d have done differently. It’s gone well by just about any measure.”

I was responding to Weatherby’s question about the first “half” of the season, and the fact that comparatively little Reading had now punched above its weight for as long as Coppell’s comparatively little Reading had done last season.

“How long can this last?” she asked.

“Well, I’d prefer you not jinx us that way,” I smiled. Then he chimed in.

“So, Rob, how long can this last?”

I just shook my head. “You know, Stefano, you might as well just put on your Reading shirt with a big “X” drawn over the logo,” I said. “It’s getting tiresome. But Merry Christmas to you. What brings you here?"

“Halfway report,” he said. “I’m to figure out if you have any chance against Liverpool.”

“Well, then I won’t bother you with a long response,” I said. “I can write ‘no’ for you just as easily as anyone else.”

“Touchy, aren’t we?” he smiled.

“No, I could probably write your piece for you,” I replied. “Who else here wants to talk about the match?”

No one did. And I didn’t get a single question about Sonko, which will hopefully put that issue to bed for awhile.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Sunday, December 14

I caught a bit of a chill at the ground yesterday so I spent today under a comforter at home hoping I’m not getting sick.

Even Patty wouldn’t go near me today – she said, “I’m sick in the mornings, but even I’m not as sick as you look” – so I had a day to myself to watch football and simply enjoy a day of rest.

The papers were filled with the news of Chelsea’s defeat yesterday at the Emirates to Arsenal, sunk 2-0 by Eduardo’s first-half brace. Chelsea was the last club in the five top English divisions to lose a match, and now Arsenal has really solidified its title credentials. They lead the field by three points with a match in hand and if they can keep playing well they’re going to be an extremely difficult group to catch.

Of course, we face them in the FA Cup over the holidays, so I watched my DVR replay of their match today to get a good look at the team we defeated on its home patch earlier this season. I watched Tomas Rosicky get carried off with a concussion worse than Kitson’s, which makes me wonder if he’ll be available for the cup tie.

Kitson, by the way, will be just fine. His concussion was minor and the physio staff rang me throughout the day with updates on him and on Ferreira, who has a bad bruise that won’t stop him from facing Liverpool either. So injury-wise we continue to stay in good shape – touch wood.

The other match we were watching closely came at Old Trafford, where United skipped past us and into second place with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth. Louis Saha and Darren Fletcher were the goal-scorers, but the big thing for me is that there’s another member of the Big Four where they believe they ought to be. It’s starting to get crowded.

Our next opponents, Liverpool, did us a favor. They contrived a way to not win at Middlesbrough, with Peter Crouch’s opener canceled out by Julio Arca’s spot kick in a 1-1 draw that gives me a bit of breathing room for Boxing Day. They are immediately below us in the table now, but the five-point margin we now enjoy means we’ll stay ahead of them regardless of the result at Anfield. Ah, for small favors.

In other matches, Villa’s Ashley Young wasn’t as lucky as Kitson, coming off with a broken wrist during their 3-0 defeat at home to suddenly surging Bolton. Andranik opened the scoring and Kevin Nolan finished it with a brace.

Blackburn and Spurs have swapped places in the table, thanks to Rovers’ 3-0 win at Ewood Park. Maceo Rigters, Roque Santa Cruz and Kevin Doyle did the business in that match, as Martin Jol has now slipped to twelfth in the table.

Raúl continued his run of vintage form with another goal for Everton this afternoon in a 3-1 win at home to Charlton. Andrew Johnson and James Vaughan connected for the Toffees as well, while Luke Varney had a consolation goal for the Addicks.

City continued its positive momentum from their win over us as well, edging West Brom 3-2 at the Hawthorns and climbing into sixth in the process. Rolando Bianchi was the only scorer for City, sandwiching all three goals of his hat trick around goals from Robert Koren and Roberto Colautti for the Baggies.

But today’s result from Ninian Park is the one that has people talking. Newcastle continues to suffer, falling 2-0 to Cardiff behind two goals from 21-year old striker Sam Williams. Cardiff are still dead last, but they can’t be compared to a toothpick any longer as in the old joke. (“What do Cardiff City and a toothpick have in common? They both have two points.”)

Newcastle are out of the relegation places on goal difference, but perhaps Cardiff’s win will kick-start their bid for respectability.

Also today, Dean Ashton (yet again) and Kieron Dyer cancelled out Giles Barnes’ brace as Derby and West Ham played to a 2-2 draw.

Up at the top, United leads us for second on goal difference, while Chelsea is three behind us with a match in hand and a better goal difference. Their match in hand isn’t until right before Christmas, so if they can beat Everton at home on the 23rd, we’ll go to Christmas in fourth place. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Then, the day’s matches over, I fell into a deep sleep. I don’t like how I’m starting to feel.

# # #

[SCIAG]

Miguel Almunia's back

[O\'Hara_fan]

Phew, been away for the last few days and having to catch up. Very nice work mate as per usual, shame that Reading lost, but a good comeback against Birmingham. Mr Emiliani being annoying as usual, makes me want to start a new story again. But good work mate.

[tenthreeleader]

DARN it all anyway, SCIAG ... I thought I had fixed that. Thanks for the catch. Obviously Almunia has replaced the real player and arrives by Sigorski before each match O'Hara, nice to have you back with us!

___

Monday, December 15

I woke up with a sore throat and a burgeoning cold this morning, dragging myself off to the stadium early so as not to get near Patty.

As much trouble as she’s having with her morning sickness, a cold is the last thing in the world she needs, so while she sprayed down the whole house with disinfectant I beat as hasty a retreat from the house as I could.

It wasn’t as though I had a lot to do – the squad is off until Thursday this week and will only do conditioning through the weekend – but at least I didn’t have to worry about her.

The papers were kinder than they probably should have been to us this morning and as I sat at my desk reading them, Waters knocked at my office door. I noticed he was using his elbow.

“Come on in,” I said, and the media man opened the door. He held a mug of hot tea in one hand and a bottle of Chloraseptic throat spray in the other.

“Here you go, boss,” he said, placing both on the table as I looked up at him. “You look like you could use both of these.”

“Not at the same time, I hope,” I said, trying feebly to find some humor.

“That would be bad,” Waters admitted.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the items from him and wrapping my hands around the hot tea mug to fight the growing chill I was feeling.

“Just take care of yourself,” he replied, beating a hasty retreat from the room.

# # #

As hard as I tried, I couldn’t do it. With the squad gone anyway I decided to do my video work from home and no one really seemed to mind. Especially Dillon, who doesn’t want what I have.

Patty was safely at work by the time I returned, so I went straight to bed and tried to concentrate on a little video so I could feel useful.

I failed at that task as well. Finally, the only thing left to do was fall asleep.

# # #

[JamboJen]

Poor Rob. I know how he feels since I spent the lead up to New Year in bed with the cold Meant I could catch up here and with Phil, though, and both continue to be excellently written. If you could write Hearts a win in the Edinburgh Derby tomorrow, tenthree, I'd much appreciate it!!

[Kewell08]

Now here's a plot arc we haven't seen on here before - the common cold.

Or is it more sinister?

I can see right through you, tenthree -- it's clear he has contracted SARS and will have to manage the club to Premiership victory from the safety of your quarantined hospital bed. Meanwhile Sonko will decide that he doesn't want to play for a manager who is so careless as to get infected with a deadly disease, and he will try to leave in January. With Rob confined and unable to rescue the situation, squad morale will be ruined and at least three key players will leave in the transfer window. However, his brilliant managerial skills will see the team through to the EPL title and subsequently the birth of Patty's baby will be precursors to a miraculous overnight cure.

Am I close?

[tenthreeleader]

Jen, best wishes to your beloved Jambos in the capital derby tomorrow And Kewell...well, no. Not terribly close. But you are giving me ideas!

___

“Honey, wake up…”

I woke to see Patty’s smiling face hovering over me – looking so wonderful, but untouchable in my present sick condition.

“I don’t feel good,” I mused, and she gave me a spoonful of soup in reply.

“You need to eat,” she said. “When did you fall asleep?”

“Noonish, I think. And I’m not hungry.”

“Nine hours,” she said. “Almost time to get up so you can go to bed.”

“How was your day?” I asked.

“Well, I resigned,” she said. “That made me feel pretty good. The other thing wasn’t quite so good.”

I frowned. “What other thing?”

“I got a call from Kate’s lawyer today,” she said. “Kate named Peter’s relationship with me in her divorce suit and so I have a problem on my hands.”

“Not of your making,” I said.

“But one I have to deal with,” she said. “I referred him to our representatives but I’m probably going to have to give another deposition about something else in my life I’d rather forget about.”

# # #

[Kewell08]

It was slightly tongue-in-cheek, tenthree

And if you use any of that, there's a price..!

[Goofus]

That storyline's brill! Good if anyone could write it...

[SCIAG]

Can't remember any stories about quarantine...

[Goofus]

Hey, I planned that character to die eventually!

However, If anyone wants, I could message you the gist about the story, and you can give it a shot. I didn't write it properly, so it went in the entirely wrong direction. A shame. It was going to be a psychological story too

[tenthreeleader]

Tuesday, December 16

It’s a bit hard to concentrate on my job with all that is swirling around Patty this morning. I’m surprised she’s taking everything as well as she is. She is trying to be brave.

I feel miserable. I stayed home today and tried to confine myself to bed as best I could, but that proved to be an exercise in futility once my phone started ringing and my e-mail started buzzing.

My expression of interest in John Fleck may have received a negative reaction from Ibrox, but the player himself doesn’t seem to mind the idea of moving to the Premiership. Someone from The Scotsman tracked down the young man outside Murray Park and he gave an honest opinion that may wind up getting him in hot water with his manager.

Meanwhile, Aaron Lennon has released a statement through his agent saying he’s had enough of Martin Jol and Spurs. David Moyes wouldn’t mind in the slightest if he had Newcastle’s Steve Sidwell in his colors in January. And Cristiano Ronaldo seems to like the idea of playing for Inter.

Yet before the day was over, both Coppell and Sam Allardyce had issued statements saying their players would be staying put – and I was dealing with a national media inquiry regarding a player I’ve seen once on video.

Shahktar’s Dmytro Chygrynskyi, a fine central defender, was linked to me in a report in this morning’s Guardian. From my sickbed, I spoke with Weatherby this afternoon.

While I wouldn’t mind a player of his caliber, his price is about £7.25 million. With my budget the way it is at the moment, that would make him a summer purchase. I also need to try to avoid upsetting Sonko or his agent – Lord knows I don’t need any more difficulty in that department.

“I look at a player like Chygrynskyi as ‘nice but not neessary’, Jill,” I said diplomatically. “He’s a great talent but we have talent already on our back line. I like the idea that world-class players are linked with this club but this group I have now is showing me it can succeed at this level.”

“You sound awful,” she said.

“Does it show?” I said, trying to make a joke.

“No, Rob, I mean it. You sound absolutely awful. Try to get some rest.”

# # #

My day wasn’t improved by the phone message I got from Paula. She woke me from a sound sleep.

“You’ve had a communication here from Phillippe Dumont,” she said. “He says Sonko wants to negotiate a new contract to resolve his future.”

I sniffed to clear out my sinuses, excused myself, and sighed.

“Now my head hurts too,” I said. “Paula, please ring the chairman for me. Tell him that I’m too ill to consider this at the moment but I do need to speak with him. If Dumont has called the office he’s surely called the papers as well.”

I wasn’t far wrong.

# # #