Rob Ridgway's "Rat Pack"

[tenthreeleader]

That was enough – but it wasn’t me that boiled over now. Before I could stop her, Patty reached around me and took her personal revenge. She slapped Peter McGuire hard across his face with the back of her left hand.

He looked at us with an expression of pure hatred, holding a hand to his cheek, now red from the impact of my wife’s hand. He moved his hand – to find that Patty had caught him with the diamond of her wedding ring. Blood trickled from a fresh cut on his cheek and at first, McGuire didn’t realize what had happened.

“Rob, let’s go – now!” Patty’s face was crimson with anger as she spoke, and I had to step between them as McGuire, now realizing he was bleeding, doubled his fist. Using the last of my self-control, I looked down on the little man and had to restrain myself from taking a most personal revenge. I stepped between them.

“You try to touch her and I’ll rip your lungs out,” I warned.

Now people were gathering and mall security arrived to usher McGuire away.

“We will see you in court,” I said. “Believe me, it’ll be a pleasure.”

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Wednesday, January 7

Reading (10-8-1, 3rd place) v Tottenham Hotspur (8-3-8, 9th place) – EPL Match Day #20

Despite my satisfaction at seeing McGuire at last getting what he deserved, my thoughts as we rolled to North London on the team coach were somewhat more sedate.

I did have a match to manage, and it was an important one. While heading east on the M4 from Berkshire I ran the team sheet over and over again in my head, trying to forget the events of the last week and more especially last night.

By some miracle my phone didn’t ring this morning and it appears that for the moment the media hasn’t yet found out about the incident at the Oracle. That would be the last thing I need – and it doesn’t matter how well the club is doing in the table. I wouldn’t need that, and Patty wouldn’t need it either. End of story.

Finally, we turned onto the Tottenham High Road toward the stadium and I was able to concentrate on the job at hand. We made a right turn onto Paxton Road and just like that, we were behind the home of Spurs since 1899.

I stood at the front of the coach as it rolled to a stop. “Remember what I’ve said this week,” I warned the players. “Get it done today and you take a huge step. But that’s up to you. Get to the changing room and let’s get ready for the match.”

I then stepped out and as is rapidly becoming my custom, I looked around the stadium as I was visiting for the first time.

The first thing I saw as I headed down the tunnel to the pitch was the golden gamecock atop the East Stand that watches over the field. The other thing that grabbed my attention was the Spurs club motto, posted on the facades that ring the grand old place.

“Audere est Facere,” I said, in a rare foray into Latin. “To Dare Is To Do.” I nodded with satisfaction.

“All well and good,” I said, turning back to the visiting changing area. “I’m doing the daring. They’ll have to do the doing.”

# # #

[Kewell08]

It's Latin...

Good stuff, as always

[tenthreeleader]

Of course it is ... brain-lock

___

Martin Jol showed the same genial personality he had showed in Reading as the teams lined up to take the pitch. However, as we traded smiles and handshakes we both knew perfectly well his side would go for our throats as soon as the ball was live – presumably with a more comprehensive plan to deal with us than the last time.

The crowd was quite loud in support of their beloved Spurs, and from the kickoff things were different than they had been at the Madejski. Our hosts were a much more confident team heading forward and once they saw I hadn’t pressed the wings forward as in our first match, they started brightly.

I had anticipated a better level of energy in the rematch than in the opening game and so had decided to keep the offensive 4-1-3-2 as a second option in case we fell behind. I was congratulating myself on a good piece of decision making early on.

Spurs piled forward, looking to do to us what we had first done to them. Gareth Bale won a 50-50 ball against Faé as the clock ticked over onto nine minutes and found Steed Malbranque down the left side of the defense. Working against Ferreira, he found his direct path to goal blocked by my Portuguese international.

So he took Paolo wide, crossing near the byline about ten yards in from the corner flag. On the way to the ball, Robbie Keane found a way to elude André Bikey to earn the ball at his feet in the heart of our six-yard box.

The crowd roared in anticipation as Keane took a point-blank shot at Lobont. My keeper saved it with his feet.

It was a remarkable save, but the rebound dribbled straight back to Keane. With Lobont down and out of the play, Keane simply sidestepped him to score.

Just like that, Spurs were in the ascendancy, our defensive plan had been undone, and they had scored a good goal. There was no sense in faulting – Malbranque’s cross was good, Keane found a way to get open, and Lobont had made the first save. Sometimes in this game the other guy just plays well.

My players knew I wanted to see some spark and did their best to provide it, as many teams do after they concede first. Five minutes after the opener, Maloney’s drive from twenty yards deflected off Gonzalo Castro and behind for a corner which the ex-Celtic man raced to take.

He immediately whipped a useful ball into the front of the six-yard box – because he saw no one had picked up Kalou. My midfielder gleefully finished right off the corner for 1-1 just fifteen minutes into the match.

It was an opportunistic goal, scored by two players who were playing with their heads up and into the game. That was almost as satisfying to me as getting level on the scoreboard.

Fists raised, I praised my players as they headed back to the center circle for the kickoff. We had answered quickly, showed Spurs we had intent on their pitch, and gave us hopes of continuing our perfect record this season against North London opposition.

Stung, Spurs struck back. Didier Zokora and Tom Huddlestone both came close in the next ten minutes but after the half-hour mark the game slowed considerably.

Also, it began to drizzle, which made things decidedly uncomfortable for touchline roamers like myself. It was one of those rare afternoons where I missed Italy.

Aaron Lennon provided the only other chance of the first half, shaving Lobont’s right post with a half-volley four minutes from time. Otherwise, the teams seemed content to wait for halftime and since I had a split in the points, I didn’t see any reason to contest the issue right at that moment.

It was a more tactical ending to the first half as Jol and I fenced with our formations and tried to figure out where the other was headed. I figured in a straight shootout we had enough firepower to overcome them, but on the road I also realized discretion was the better part of valor.

“Guys, you have to shut down Route One and Route Two,” I said. “They got in one cross on us and they had Keane in the right position to do something with it. Close them down in the box – they aren’t the fleetest of foot up front so the defenders ought to be able to get in tight and make it stick. That was a great fightback and I’m proud to see you match them so quickly. This game is just like the last one – you can sting them quickly given the opportunity. Be ready to get forward in the second half if the situation warrants.”

Dillon did his tactical talk at halftime and this time I stuck around to listen. His words were profound, when it came to dealing with their midfield. “You heard Rob, now’s the time to get stuck in,” he said. “Our pace is at least as good as theirs – get in there and make them uncomfortable. They aren’t going to beat you the long way round, so make contact, win the ball and let’s use our superior pace.”

# # #

[Marchie]

More! More! More!

[tenthreeleader]

Happy to oblige, Marchie

___

Both teams had the same idea in the second half. We each came out flying and it didn’t take long for the game to turn into an end-to-end contest – wildly entertaining but also wildly nerve-wracking for the managers.

The chances came thick and fast. Ours was first – Kalou left Castro for dead six minutes after the restart, zooming around him on the left and using his breathtaking pace to free himself for a shot opportunity inside the 18.

With Dagoberto to his right waiting for the ball and Ledley King frantically trying to close him, Kalou had the option to pass or shoot. He chose the sharp-angle shot, his confidence buoyed by his goal. Robinson’s save was excellent, fisting the ball over the bar for a corner.

Then came theirs. Lennon was the playmaker, slipping past Rosenior to provide a great entry ball to the run of Nicolas Anelka, who had been quiet all afternoon – to this point.

Lobont never even saw his shot. Anelka made a perfect one-touch shot, lifting a laser beam that Lobont couldn’t have stopped even if he had seen it.

Thankfully, it missed the net. It went over, presumably to maim someone in the fifteenth row who was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end, but for me all that mattered was the goal kick. We had dodged a real bullet.

Lobont restarted play, and we could breathe again. Moments later, Ferreira was forced to play a long lead ball from Bale into touch on the right under pressure from Malbranque and Bale moved up to throw in the ball.

He found Huddlestone, who feathered a delicate little ball to the left for Zokora. He in turn angled back to the right for Lennon, working against Rosenior. Leroy couldn’t stop him, and Lennon shot toward the right corner of Lobont’s goal.

His drive hit Bikey and took a crazy deflection back to the left. With the keeper’s weight shifted, all he could do was watch the ball skid into our goal for a 2-1 Spurs advantage on the hour. White Hart Lane went nuts and all I could do was look on in frustration.

“Get forward,” I motioned. “Time to open it up.” Everyone knew it. On the bench, Lita got up and started his stretching. It was time for him to get ready as well.

# # #

“Instant offense,” said Efan Okoku in the commentary box. “Lita has been magic off the bench and Reading needs him to make an impact now. They aren’t generating anything and they aren’t getting service to their forwards. Now is the time.”

The time I actually chose was 77 minutes. Kitson and Dagoberto were generating movement but not chances and the switch to Lita up front also marked our switch to 4-3-3.

Lita’s introduction brought some noise to our support, which by now was starting to expect something from him in the form of late-match heroics. Yet, aware of his presence, the Spurs central defense collapsed on him, choosing instead to let the wings of the 4-3-3 carry our attack.

Seven minutes from time, Spurs won a throw in our half and again Bale took it. He found Jermaine Jenas, who had just come on in place of Malbranque, and he immediately put the ball into the seam between Bikey and Ferreira on the right side of our defense.

Just like that, Keane was onto it – and just like that, he had stepped around Lobont and scored to make it 3-1.

It was over so quickly. Keane roared off to the corner flag and celebrated, while Jol prepared to bring on Pascal Chimbonda for Castro. Grimly, I prepared for the worst.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

We kicked off and were desperate for something to save our pride. The fans were singing “When the Spurs go marching in”, and were getting louder by the moment. I couldn’t blame them. We were out of ideas.

Pazienza lumped the ball forward, King headed it back, and the ball fell at the feet of my Italian midfielder. He swung the ball left to Kalou, who noticed that the right side of the Spurs defense had crumpled inward. So he played the ball forward and found Lita, who had swung around the central defenders to take the ball on the left edge of the 18.

Leroy took the ball, took two strides into the area – and beat Robinson to his left post 90 seconds after Keane’s goal to make it 3-2.

That brought us up off the bench – five minutes from time, we had a lifeline. Lita grabbed the ball out of the Tottenham goal and made a mad dash for the center line, barely pausing to accept congratulations from his teammates. His eighth goal of the season was in the net and now, we had something approaching a chance.

“Maybe we aren’t out of ideas after all,” I called to Dillon, who was now out of his seat but carefully avoiding intruding into my technical area where I was now pacing like a caged animal.

Jol started yelling at his defense for a deeper line and to “get on Lita, would you?” I’m sure they had a plan for him but for that moment, it hadn’t worked. Our players sprinted to get on the right side of the center line and Spurs put the ball back into play.

Slowly and carefully, Spurs played for possession. I waved my arms toward the Spurs goal, yelling at my players at the top of my lungs.

“Close them!” I screamed. “Get in their faces and win the ball!”

It wasn’t like they needed me to tell them that, but the urging seemed to bring a little added pace to our play. King, under pressure from Lita, had to strike a high ball to the right side of our defensive half, where Bikey’s superior height won the ball from the leaping Keane.

André headed the ball to his left, where Maloney had come deep to help. Shaun swung the ball to Faé, who for some reason had switched sides to the left. That didn’t matter for the moment, though, as he pushed the ball forward to Kalou.

Again, Salomon was looking to provide. He chipped the ball high – and found Lita again.

Leroy controlled off his chest at the top of the Spurs area, and defender Michael Dawson was deep waiting for him. Leroy moved toward goal but Dawson worked him wide to the keeper’s right. Robinson came over to work the angle and Lita was out of room.

Now Dagoberto was joining the play late and screaming for the ball, with King chasing him for all he was worth. Lita looked over toward the Brazilian, and Dawson turned his head for a split second.

Leroy saw his chance. But he didn’t pass.

[weeeman27bob]

Gasp.

This is really good stuff!

[salkster2102]

if he scores i dread to think what emiliani will be like. brilliant as always 10-3

[mark wilson27]

Looking good still Tenthree, Do you think your teams ready for the Premiership crown?

[Balthazars]

Damn you and your cliff-hangers, 10-3!

[tenthreeleader]

Gentlemen, thank you for the comments ... I am happy to hear you're all enjoying the story. Mark, I don't know about Reading's title creds since we aren't terribly deep ... but the best thing about cliffhangers is that sometimes there are more than one ...

___

He chipped. Robinson leapt high but the ball sailed over his outstretched right arm – and down under the crossbar for the equalizing goal.

Our bench erupted in screams of joy. It was absolutely astonishing. Lita had scored at the 86:43 mark on the clock – 1:55 after his first goal – and we were now level.

The support was going wild and Lita ran to them in the corner between the South and West stands at the end we had dented twice in the last 115 seconds. While they went wild and Lita sprinted to them pulling himself by the logo on his shirt, I knew what I had to do.

I grabbed the wildly celebrating Halls. “In for Faé!”I screamed. “Give me a flat 4-4-2 with Dagoberto and Lita up front and don’t you dare lose this point!”

Halls was still jumping around and I grabbed him by the shoulders to get his attention. “Do you hear me, John?” I yelled.

“Yeah, boss!” he replied, and I led him by the shoulders to the fourth official while the stunned Spurs players headed back to the center circle wondering where their two points had gone.

They kicked off and tried to steal some late thunder. In they came, the substitute Jamie O’Hara, who had entered the game with Jenas, leading the way. He took the ball straight up Route One – and Pazienza stopped him cold with a clean but crunching challenge right at the top of our area.

The Italian quickly regained his feet and won the ball. He looked for Kalou on the left – could there have been any other target? – and the Ivorian again took a nice lead ball. This time, Jol’s screams to “watch Kalou!” were heeded and Salomon was boxed in against the touchline.

So he threaded a square ball through the defense for Dagoberto, who worked the ball diagonally to his right. The Spurs defense watched him warily, and finally Dawson, who was doubling Lita with King, made his move.

He closed on Dagoberto and with a flick of the striker’s foot, the ball was over Dawson and onto the run of Lita, who was now working to his left at the top of the Spurs area.

Our bench stood as one, the support screamed with excitement, and Lita controlled the ball beautifully. King closed hard, and Lita stroked a low bullet to Robinson’s left.

The keeper stopped it.

# # #

[ohaio]

AHHH You keep making my heart pound, you're going to end up giving me a heart attack!

[Balthazars]

You evil, evil man!

I need to stop checking this story so regularly, that way, you'll have had sufficient time to post the whole match in one go and I won't get suckered like this!

Your writing is brilliant as always, 10-3.

[tenthreeleader]

At full stretch, the England keeper denied Lita. But he couldn’t control the rebound.

He pushed the ball desperately toward King with his fingertips, trying to keep it away from the rampaging substitute. But Lita got there first.

He took one step around Robinson and the overpursuing King and had the goal at his mercy from the penalty spot. He didn't miss.

The ball rolled home with 89:29 on the clock, giving Lita a hat trick – as a substitute – in four minutes and forty-one seconds. We led 4-3, still in normal time.

Fists pumping at the air, I jumped up and down in the technical area while the Spurs crowd was now absolutely silent in shock. The only noise I could hear was the joyous collective scream of 2,900 Reading supporters who had made the trip from Berkshire and who now had something real to scream about.

If I had thought the support and bench was going wild a few minutes ago, what happened now resembled an outdoor insane asylum. Players were jumping everywhere, coaches were hugging each other and slapping high-fives, the players on the field had completely buried Lita in a pile-up to the left of the Spurs goal, and I still had three minutes of injury time to worry about.

Now I turned for Harper. He was ready and he knew what was needed.

“Get in for Kalou,” I said. Give me 4-5-1, you hold with Pazienza, and hold on!”

He ran to the fourth official and I burned a few precious seconds for my final substitution while the players regained their composure. Harper stepped onto the field and Kalou came off, having scored one goal and played a major part in all three of Lita’s.

He ran off applauding the support and arrived to a bear hug from his manager and a rapturous reception from his teammates. Harper came on, we shifted to a defensive alignment – and moments later, it was all over.

Finally, I look behind my bench. Patty was standing, applauding hands over head. She stopped just long enough to blow me a kiss and wipe a tear from her eye.

I headed over to shake hands with a gobsmacked Martin Jol, who had to be wondering what he had done to deserve his fate. Yet that wasn’t my worry.

Astonishing. Absolutely astonishing.

Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Keane 9th 9, 10th 83; Bikey og 60)

Reading 4 (Kalou 5th 15; Lita 8th 85, 9th 87, 10th 90)

A – 36,250, White Hart Lane, London

Man of the Match – Leroy Lita, Reading (2)

# # #

[Winthrop19]

holy sh*t lita is amazing......this is the best story ive read on here.......keep the updates coming.......great work

[salkster2102]

you lucky lucky man 10-3 you dont know when to stop using cliffhangers do you

[tenthreeleader]

Best fightback I've ever had playing the game, Salkster. I thought we were deader than Kelcy's Nuts with five minutes to play (another Americanism), but then Lita went absolutely nuts. I'll take the three points! And Winthrop, welcome to the Rat Pack!

___

“No, I’ve never seen a performance like that,” I admitted. “I’ve also never been around a team that came back to win from 3-1 down seven minutes from time.”

“This will increase the calls for Lita to get more playing time,” I was reminded.

“Shh, Stefano will hear you,” I smiled. “That’s as may be, but honestly, can anyone fault me for the way he’s being used lately? Show of hands? We do talk about him providing instant offense but this performance was just remarkable.”

I paused for a moment. “I will say this, though,” I added. “There is no way we win this game today without the play of Salomon Kalou. He scored a very good goal for us today and had a significant hand in all three of Lita’s goals. His vision is remarkable and to have him as a wing player when many might consider him an out-and-out striker is a luxury in real terms. He’s got five goals for us already from the wing position and he’s just a fine, fine young player.”

“The first goal came at 84:48 on the clock so you were two down with just over five minutes left,” Hopkins said. “What did you tell your players? Anything?”

“Not a thing,” I said. “We have a variation of our 4-3-3 formation that allows one of the midfielders, in our case Shaun Maloney, to get forward to create the kinds of overload situations he makes for us in our standard tactic. He did that today and to compensate for him and his eight goals in their box, Spurs had to make some adjustments to their zonal marking. We had four in their area – Kalou, Dagoberto, Lita and Maloney – at the end, and that isn’t a bad four from a purely offensive standpoint.”

“You won the statistics as well,” he said in a follow up.

“It looks that way,” I said, getting my first look at the sheet as it was handed to me. “Eighteen attempts to fifteen away from home isn’t bad at all. But getting one more goal is of course all that matters.”

“Rob, we have to ask,” Weatherby said. “Did you ever think about not managing this team today? After what happened this last week?”

I shook my head. “With respect, Jill, I don’t want to talk about that,” I began. “In my mind, this win is special. My wife was here today behind our bench and at this point I just want to concentrate on my family.”

“Are you dedicating this victory?” Weatherby again.

“That wouldn’t be appropriate,” I said immediately. “Please, let’s not talk about this any more.”

With that, I headed out to a raucous changing room.

# # #

Patty, though, had no such hangup. She greeted me with a soft hug outside our changing room before the coach containing our official party headed back to Berkshire.

“That’s for our little one,” she said. “I know you can’t say it so I will.”

“The hug or the win?” I asked.

“Maybe both,” she said. “See you at the stadium when we get home.”

# # #

[archie#10]

I dream of the day FM throws up a comeback result like this for me. Congrats on the result, and the story

[tenthreeleader]

Thanks, Archie .. the win felt good!

__

Thursday, January 8

It was quite a day at the training ground.

Yesterday’s win has us second in the table pending Chelsea’s match this weekend against Middlesbrough. We are now actively preparing for Newcastle’s visit to the Mad Stad on Sunday and now entertaining real thoughts of a top-five finish. In short, we are daring to dream.

Boro will be skidding heading into their match with Chelsea and our next opponents will be on a high. Steve Sidwell and Joey Barton scored for them yesterday at St. James’ Park and the Toon moved to 13th place with a 2-0 win. Southgate’s Boro is now 17th, barely above the relegation places, and not looking very good.

Manchester United rebounded from their loss to Derby by thrashing Villa 6-0 at Old Trafford. Wayne Rooney scored 47 seconds after kickoff and again on 23 minutes, while Louis Saha’s brace within the following ten minutes made it 4-0 at half. Owen Hargreaves and Carlos Tevez cleaned up in the second half for the final margin.

Derby continues to play well, though. They knocked off Manchester City at Pride Park thanks to Nene’s goal in the 64th minute, meaning they’ve beaten both Manchester teams in the same season for the first time in God knows how long. The win also ended City’s unbeaten streak in the league at eight, which was getting them uncomfortably close to our position in the table.

Luke Varney scored the only goal at the Valley as Charlton beat hapless Cardiff 1-0 , and Carlton Cole’s injury time goal gave West Ham a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Birmingham.

But perhaps the most interesting matches yesterday were the first legs of the League Cup semifinals. Chelsea and Liverpool played to a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge and Arsenal punished Portsmouth 6-3 at Fratton Park despite a hat trick from Portsmouth’s Jermain Defoe. Emanuel Adebayor had a hat trick of his own for the Gunners within the first forty minutes, and goals from Carlos Vela, Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby finished things off.

To make matters worse for Roland Nilsson, the two teams meet again at the Emirates on Saturday in league play. Wenger’s club is focused – with a four-point lead in the league they are getting to the point where they can smell the championship.

And along the way, six away goals in the League Cup first leg ought to be enough. We may have ruined Arsenal’s shot at The Double, but a league/League Cup double may well still happen for them. That wouldn’t be a bad season, by any stretch of the imagination.

# # #

I arrived at work this morning having to respond to a story in the Guardian claiming that Manchester City is preparing a bid of £17.5 million for Dagoberto.

“That’s a lot of money, but it’s still not going to get them the player,” I said. “He is under contract to us through the end of next season and we are neither willing to sell or interested in receiving offers. We are in second place in the Premiership and the attempt to unsettle my player is not welcome.”

That wasn’t the only story in the papers today. Eriksson is having to respond to stories of his own linking Micah Richards with – who else – Chelsea. And Juande Ramos of Sevilla is reportedly interested in Spurs winger Aaron Lennon.

I also had the opportunity to talk with Gordon Strachan today. He called my office right after our lunch break.

He got to the point. “Rob, I know you probably aren’t terribly interested in talking with us given our background but my board has asked me to inquire about Leroy Lita,” he said.

“Gordon, I have no problem with talking to you. Unless and until I ever go back to Rangers, I need to talk with everyone who will talk to me. That said, I don’t know if you have enough money to buy Leroy Lita, especially at the moment. He is playing phenomenally well and I need him. I have to tell you that he’s not for sale.”

“We may make a bid anyway,” he said.

“Bring your checkbook,” I said. “And it better be big, big, big. I’ve already dealt with one story about a striker of mine today so if yours is to be the second, you need to have huge pockets.”

# # #

[TaylorB]

back up to date with this story again now and it hasn't dissapointed at all,i did feel so much hatred towards you with the two cliffhangers however. Don't let the two strikers go, i beg you;)

[tenthreeleader]

Thanks, Taylor ... though 'hate' is such a strong word

___

However, we did get offers for a couple of players I have been interested in moving for some time.

Monaco has offered £250,000 plus clauses for Kalifa Cisse and West Brom has offered the same amount for Alan Bennett. Neither one was going to play a lot and in fact neither player has stepped on the pitch with my senior squad this season. They are taking reserve playing time away from Craig Cathcart and Gaspari when he’s not with the senior squad, and I wouldn’t mind freeing up some salary either.

We may need to bring in a player or two in case some team comes in with silly money for either Dagoberto or Lita. I don’t want to lose either player, but boards and chairmen can be funny things.

Madejski hasn’t indicated to me that he has any interest in selling key players, but every man has his price. I need to be ready in case someone meets his.

The thing about Cisse and Bennett, though, is that together they make £1.1 million in salary. That’s a lot of dosh for players that haven’t seen the senior squad all season.

# # #

Unfortunately, Dagoberto reads the papers too, even if his command of English isn’t so hot.

“Manchester City want me,” he said, as he sat opposite my desk after training.

“So I’ve heard,” I said, and we switched to Spanish in the conversation.

“I would like this settled,” he said. “It is only going to get worse.”

I understood completely. “We are trying to free up payroll space,” I said. “When we do that I am interested in a contract extension for you, if you are interested in considering it.”

He nodded. “We understand each other,” he said. “I will contact my agent. When do you think the club will be ready?”

“As soon as possible,” I said. “Believe me, we would like this sorted out soon as well, because we don’t need the distraction. We have a great shot at reaching Europe next season and we think you can help get us there.”

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Friday, January 9

All season long, I have been worrying about how we might handle a spate of injuries. Now, I have to worry harder.

We are already without Pogatetz for another few weeks and today we suffered a potentially huge loss that will have ramifications at the worst possible time.

Dagoberto went down today with a heel injury that came as a result of being kicked and landing awkwardly in a training mishap. He will absolutely miss the Newcastle match on Sunday, and our current list of fixtures makes this a very important loss indeed.

We play again next Wednesday – at Chelsea. Then we play Charlton at home a week from tomorrow, so even a short time out might mean he could miss up to three matches right at the point where we need him the most.

I’ve said before we are a mile wide in some places and an inch deep. At the moment, Lita will now start on Sunday – even though I am morally certain he is better coming off the bench. His two starts this season haven’t been very good and nine of his ten goals in all competitions have come when he has come off the bench.

But Long hasn’t played much and is getting reserve fixtures to preserve his fitness. Maloney and Kalou are my emergency strikers but I need them elsewhere on the pitch. Their backups, Oster and Hunt respectively, are dropoffs from the first choice players – which is, not coincidentally, why they aren’t first choice – so I need to look into the market.

Cautiously, I’m doing that, but with a club that has gotten me in trouble before.

Today I sat at my desk before training when I received a phone call from Spain. A man named Carlos Alvarez was on the other end of the line, and he spoke to me in Spanish.

“Señor Ridgway, as you know I am agent to Julio Baptista,” he said.

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” I said. “And I know that my attempts at player procurement with Los Merengues have been less than successful in the past.”

“Regrettable,” Alvarez said. “But I am not agent to Gúti.”

Suddenly my demeanor changed. I didn’t appreciate his humor, but he had a reason for calling. “What can I do for you, Mr. Alvarez?” I asked.

“You can tell me if you are interested in my client,” he said. “He has had one first team appearance all season here, as you may know, and he is seeking a move away from Madrid.”

“Of course I’m interested,” I said. I knew full well that “The Beast” was a horse of a completely different color. He has Premiership experience, 35 games with Arsenal in which he scored ten goals, and when he was here he didn’t mind life in England at all.

“We have been watching your results and we know you are maintaining a position near the top of the Premiership,” Alvarez said. “We may be willing to assist you in keeping that position if the right arrrangements can be made.”

“What’ll it cost?” I said.

“The club’s valuation of the player has dropped considerably,” Alvarez said. “As you may know, a very high minimum fee release is in place on him but Madrid have indicated they will let him go for under five million pounds.”

I nodded. That was news to me but I dared not show it.

“I will make the necessary inquiries with the club,” I said. “But I cannot promise. Obviously your client interests me but I have to stay within my own club spending guidelines.”

“That is all I can ask,” I said.

“I have one more thing to ask,” I said. “Have you contacted any other clubs in England?”

“Not at present, though Villareal and Sevilla have indicated an interest in my client,” Alvarez answered. I had no reason not to believe him. “I will wait to hear back from you. Good day.”

With that, I hung up. I know my transfer budget and I know we can get Baptista under it if the agent’s estimate of Madrid’s asking price is believable. I’ve wanted a true horse in central midfield for some time, because it will allow me to do something I’ve been thinking about for some time.

Maloney has been wonderful in the center of midfield but I would really like to try him on the right. Faé has been largely disappointing there this season and a three-wide midfield of Kalou, Baptista and Maloney with Pazienza holding makes me smile. We’d be very talented offensively and Maloney has shown he’s just as good at getting a ball into the box as he is as putting it into the goal. At £2.5 million from Aston Villa, he might wind up being the buy of the season in the Premiership. And I wouldn’t mind that at all.

# # #

[weeeman27bob]

I nodded. That was news to me but I dared not show it.

Quite hard to show things over the telephone is it not?

Still this is brilliant!

[tenthreeleader]

Inflection can tell a story all its own, bob. You don't need to be face-to-face to do that.

___

I then went out and ran training for Newcastle, cobbling together an eleven that will reflect the fact that two regulars are out injured and the rest of the squad played at midweek.

It’s going to be a tough stretch, as I’ve already mentioned. The return showdown with Chelsea looms next week and I have to make sure the best eleven I have will be able to answer the bell for that matchup. It’s not the optimal time to be playing them, but I have to believe Avram Grant knows he’ll be in for a match as well. If they win tomorrow they’ll vault past us into second place. The national allure of a 2-3 matchup with Chelsea on the bottom of the equation might be more interesting, though. I know I wouldn’t mind.

That match will also mean the return to Stamford Bridge of the Blues’ old boys, Ferreira and Kalou. Part of my task for Sunday is to make sure those two don’t look past the Toon. After Sunday, though, they can dream as big as they like.

From time to time, Ferreira still talks about letting Rossi past him for the equalizing goal in the first match of the season. I’ve let him use that for motivation to play better since then, and the result has been a very good season, nearly a renaissance of his career – but I also can’t let him get carried away.

And neither can I let myself get carried away. So back to Newcastle.

# # #

[Offspring8]

Still a brilliant read, tenthree. Not sure whether I want my Chelsea to win or Rob's Reading to win.....but I guess I'll throw my support behind Rob instead of Chelsea for this one game :p

[Marchie]

More! More! More!

[tenthreeleader]

Happy to provide, gentlemen!

___

Saturday, January 10

As one of only four teams in the league not in action today, we took a little time to watch Chelsea’s match at Middlesbrough as a team following our morning kickabout and shadow play session.

I have thought better of the squad changes, and may well wait until match time tomorrow to decide on Halls and Oster’s respective fates for tomorrow.

Part of it is that I’m seriously considering 4-5-1 for Stamford Bridge, with a heavy emphasis on counter-attack. To do that, I am going to need attacking forwards, which brings a name back into play that hasn’t been considered for awhile.

Stephen Hunt has been overshadowed by Kalou’s excellence but he’s right in the mix for midweek. He has been training well and patiently waiting for his chance – and for him, the opportunity to play at Stamford Bridge is one he might well relish.

Of course, he was the player involved in the unfortunate accident with Petr Cech a couple of years back and Hunt didn’t step onto the pitch in the first match between the teams this season. He has waited for his chance and he might get a spot on the bench for the midweek trip.

We thought our own thoughts as we gathered in the players’ lounge after training to watch the Chelsea match. We were as shocked as the rest of the nation to see Darren Bent fire Boro into the lead three minutes before half against the run of play. The home team hasn’t been very good over the last couple of months and the opportunity to take Chelsea’s measure and give a kick-start to their season was a chance they surely couldn’t miss.

So the clubs went to intermission and when they came back, my players were hoping for the best. Yet it wasn’t to be, as Shaun Wright-Phillips and the ever present Didier Drogba responded for Avram Grant’s men within the first twenty minutes of the second half. There was no way back for Boro, whose players resembled deflated balloons when Drogba found the range to give Chelsea the lead.

That’s what happens to most teams when the Big Four get on top of them. They go flat. We’re the next team who gets to try them.

# # #

After watching Chelsea on television, I addressed the players.

“Point being, we have a match tomorrow that is just as important to us as this match today was to Chelsea,” I reminded them. “If you play the way you can play you will be just fine. You beat them on their patch last time we played, and there’s nothing that tells me you can’t do it again tomorrow.”

We went over some final video of Newcastle and I dismissed the players for the day. If we approach tomorrow in a positive frame of mind, I have no doubt we’ll be just fine. Our form has been decent of late and at home I think we have the edge.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

We got two significant breaks in the other action in the league today.

First, Everton rose up and smote Manchester United at Goodison this afternoon. James Vaughan showed the Toffees’ intent with a goal five minutes into the match and even though Cristiano Ronaldo responded for the Red Devils sixteen minutes later, Coppell’s men had no answer for Tim Cahill’s second-half brace.

Also, Liverpool lost to West Ham away, so we have the chance to put three more points between ourselves and the champions tomorrow as well. Dean Ashton – yes, him again – got the winner in injury time to complete a brace he started from the penalty spot midway through the first half. He now has scored 24 goals in all competitions and is the odds-on favorite for player of the year honors. Ryan Babel scored for Liverpool in the second half to level things but Ashton’s late goal broke Liverpool’s hearts, if not their backs.

However, there is no stopping Arsenal, and that’s bad news for the rest of us. For the second time inside a week, the Gunners scored six – and for the second time inside a week, they did it against Portsmouth. Last weekend’s League Cup semifinal was evidently no fluke, as Robin van Persie’s second half hat trick was more than enough to bury Roland Nilsson’s Pompey. Carlos Vela opened the scoring and Emanuel Adebayor also picked up a brace while Landon Donovan scored a quite lonesome goal for Portsmouth.

As surprising as it might seem, Arsenal led just 1-0 with 32 minutes to play. But then, as they often do, they simply exploded.

Arsenal wasn’t the only team to score six today, though. Blackburn got braces from three different players – Kevin Doyle, Kevin Thomson and Matt Derbyshire – and ten-man Charlton wound up road kill at Ewood Park as a result.

The Addicks led 2-0 inside the first three minutes thanks to goals from Mauro Zarate and Luke Varney, but Doyle’s first goal came on six minutes and the “girl with the curl” never looked back in a 6-2 thrashing. It was made worse when Charlton lost Jonathan Fortune to a red card for violent conduct.

Manchester City returned to winning ways thanks to Richard Dunne’s 71st minute goal at Eastlands to beat sagging Birminghan 1-0. West Brom’s Craig Beattie canceled out Robbie Keane’s penalty opener for Spurs in a 1-1 draw, and Cardiff gave Bolton a game before falling 3-2 at Ninian Park. Matt Green and youngster Roger Johnson scored for the Bluebirds but Kevin Nolan, Tranquillo Barnetta and Scott Sinclair had already put Sammy Lee’s team too far ahead to catch.

# # #

I arrived home to discover Patty looking forlornly into the baby’s room.

She was leaning against the doorpost, her head in her hands. I opened the door to the sounds of my wife’s tears and immediately my heart went to my throat.

I closed the door audibly so as not to frighten her, and made sure she knew I was approaching as I neared her from behind.

I reached out and wordlessly touched Patty’s shoulder. “Honey,” I whispered, softly taking her into my arms.

She turned and buried her head in my shoulder, giving way to her sorrow. In between gasps and gulps of air, she choked out her feelings.

“Rob, I hate him,” she said. “God help me, I hate that man so much…”

I cradled Patty close to me and let her vent. I came to the same conclusion long before, but now was obviously not the time or place.

“Honey, we can’t let him win,” I said. “Obviously we grieve the loss now, but if we don’t move on, we let him win.”

“I know,” she cried, her head still buried in my shoulder. “But he has no decency! I shouldn’t have just slapped him – I should have choked him with my own two hands!”

She was letting it all out now and I said nothing in reply. “Rob, as far as I’m concerned, that man killed our child. Doesn’t that upset you?”

“Of course it does,” I said. “I will never see our baby. I’ll never hold our baby. And I hold him as responsible for that as you do. But I’m telling you we have to move on – otherwise he’ll hold this kind of sway over us forever. Is that what you really want?”

She looked up at me.

“No, Rob, that’s not what I want,” she said. “You know that too. But right now, I’m just heartbroken.”

“So am I,” I said, admitting something to myself that I hadn’t said to anyone – not even Patty. “But we have to be strong. I need to be strong for you and I need you to be strong for me. Otherwise he keeps winning. And I’m not going to let him do that.” My own tears began to flow and our eyes met.

She looked up at me and took my face in both her hands. “You dear man,” she finally said, kissing tears away from both my cheeks. Then she dissolved against me in tears of her own.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Sunday, January 11

Reading (11-8-1, 3rd place) v Newcastle (6-5-9, 13th place) – EPL Match Day # 21

Last night was very quiet.

Patty spent the night nestled in my arms – a better word for it might have been hiding – as she hardly said a word all evening.

She needs time. I need to give that time to her. And most importantly, I need to be there for her, which is very difficult given how busy we are at present. The biggest match of our season is 72 hours away – and, of course, we had a match to play today as well. Leaving for the ground this morning was hard.

To keep her mind off things, she again rode with me to the stadium. This time, though, I didn’t want her in the stands as the weather was cold and windy. The last thing she needs on top of everything is to be sick. I just wanted her cozy, warm and well looked after.

The now-usual route to the ground seemed to flow underneath the car’s wheels without a second thought by either of us. Silently, she held my free hand as I drove and it was actually a nice, quiet few moments. We haven’t had too many of those without being completely preoccupied in recent days.

I made the turns through the barricades at the ground and made the last turn into the staff car park, waving at the attendant as I drove us past.

“Now then, Mr. Ridgway,” he said with a soft smile, waving us through. I smiled – the attendant looked to be at least ten years my senior so to hear such deference was unusual to me – and I pulled into my reserved space.

“They’re going to look after you,” I said. “I’ve got it all arranged. Just enjoy the day.”

“I’d rather be in the dugout with you,” she said, as we got out of the car. “And I’m being honest.”

“I know you are,” I answered, as she adjusted her scarf against the early afternoon wind. “Just let people be good to you today and we’ll have a quiet night tonight. All right?”

She nodded wordlessly, finaly tying the ends of a lovely scarf around her head. She took my hand.

“Of course,” she said, giving me a smile I suspect she didn’t mean.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

“We’ve got a lot of momentum,” I said to the radio reporters as I headed to the changing room. I was surrounded by deadline reporters who were filing pre-match actualities for their coverage as well as for the radio match broadcasts.

“Lita is starting today?” I was asked.

“Yes, he is,” I said. “Dagoberto hasn’t been able to shake off the knock on his heel he got during training and we’re going to put Leroy in for the full ninety minutes and see how he does.”

“Ten goals gone from Dagoberto and another ten in his place with Lita,” another said. “Do you think he can match his performance as a substitute now that he is in the eleven?”

“Leroy gives us explosiveness off the bench and we certainly benefit from that,” I said. “What we need Leroy to do today is match the intensity he brings us in the heat of the moment right from the opening kickoff. If he gives us that then I like our chances.”

I then excused myself and headed in to see my players. Of course, the problem with Lita has been that he hasn’t shown the intensity as a starting player that he has shown off the bench. That is one of the worries I carried to the ground today but reuinting him with Kitson up front would hopefully shake him from the starting doldrums that consigned him to the bench in the first place. Hopefully.

I saw him sitting in front of his locker, his face a mask of concentration. Usually he’s a fairly happy-go-lucky player but even as lethal as he’s been off the bench for us, every player wants to play ninety minutes. He had his chance today and if looks were any indication, he was determined not to waste it.

# # #

My prematch talk was short and sweet.

“Remember the feeling you had at the end of the match on Saturday,” I said. “You took three points by hard work and determination and now’s the chance to get three more just like them. Make it happen for yourselves and keep pace with the league. It’s out there for you.”

I couldn’t get my mind off Patty as the last moments before the match ran off the clock. The strains of Lux Aeterna signaled the pending start to festivities and it was time to line up.

I led the team out into the tunnel where the players lined up. I headed to the back of the line and shook hands first with referee Steve Bennett and then with Sam Allardyce.

“Rob,” he said, by way of greeting. A man of few words, obviously.

“Sam,” I smiled. “Welcome to Berkshire. I think we’ll have a good one today.”

“Hope you’re right,” he said. “And I hope it comes out differently this time.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” I replied. “Best of luck to you.”

The line began to move and we took the pitch. Waters then turned my head with his own song selection for the match. He made me turn my head looking for my wife, which was a neat trick.

His selection was Crystal Method’s redo of the Steppenwolf classic “Magic Carpet Ride”. Even the words he picked were ideal in terms of the attitude she’s going to need to survive what has happened:

Well, you don't know what we can find

Why don't you come with me little girl

On a magic carpet ride

Well, you don't know what we can see

Why don't you tell your dreams to me

Fantasy will set you free

Close your eyes girl

Look inside girl

Let the sound take you away

I looked up toward the directors’ terrace, and saw her seated behind the railing, leaning forward against it to look over the pitch.

I waved to her and cupped my hand to my ear in a sort of “be sure you’re listening” gesture. I thought I could see her smile in reply, which was better than we were doing when we left for the ground.

The match kicked off. It was time to see if we could indeed ‘make it happen’.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

The persistent drizzle that has plagued us over the last few weeks started, right on cue, almost from the opening kickoff.

Disgusted, I soon retreated to the dugout for an overcoat – but not to sit down. I wanted it known that if I was going to sacrifice my comfort to parade on the touchline then my players had better be prepared to sacrifice theirs.

The start of the match was, unfortunately, painfully slow. We didn’t do anything for the first fifteen minutes except react. That was profoundly disappointing.

Luckily for us, Newcastle was little better, and it appeared that the communication between their strike force of Alan Smith and Vagner Love had more than just the language barrier hindering it. More than once I wondered if the two of them had ever trained together before. They were completely out of synch and it was a simple thing for Bikey and Sonko to close them down at the heart of our defense.

Smith would ‘zig’. Love would ‘zag’. Sonko would clear. And then we would do nothing in reply. Frankly, it wasn’t the best advertisement for the English top flight that I had ever seen.

My chosen eleven was spinning its wheels and my hope was that, like a train scrambling for traction on the track as the locomotive starts, we would heat up and take hold of the match.

Yet it just wasn’t happening. Sometimes that happens in football, but it wasn’t like Newcastle was packing the box and throwing men behind the ball. They weren’t. Both teams were trying to play football but neither of them were succeeding.

So it was a bland, ugly, frankly rotten first half of play. Our only chance of the half amounted to nothing, as Maloney’s pass to Kitson played him through on 32 minutes only for Stephen Taylor to grab the targetman’s shirt and haul him back. Bennett was quick with his book, and Taylor wound up in it. We did nothing with the ensuing free kick, though, and it was as though nothing had happened.

In forty-five turgid minutes, the only chance worth noting was off the boot of Joey Barton, who forced Lobont into a halfway decent save three minutes before halftime.

Bennett mercifully blew for halftime and the crowd was silent as the teams trudged off the pitch into the changing rooms for tactical adjustments. Both teams needed them, without doubt.

I stood in front of my players. My worst fears had been confirmed – Lita was non-existent up front as a starting player and we missed Dagoberto’s explosiveness more than I would have previously thought.

Yet I chose to stay reasonably positive. “Good work defensively,” I said. “They didn’t get a sniff of the goal and that’s great. As for the rest, I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“The good news is that we only have to score one goal to win. The bad news … is that we have to score one goal to win.”

Dillon cringed, but stood up at that moment anyway. “Rob’s right,” he said. “We were pretty lifeless out there and we just weren’t moving. Our whole tactic depends on free flow and movement of the ball into space. I didn’t see much of it from where I sat and if any of you saw more of it from where you were, now’s the time to stake the claim.”

Nobody said a word. That didn’t surprise me.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

The second half started as the first ended, and that was not a good thing.

My instructions to open things up and play with pace seemed to fall on deaf ears. When we are really up against it, I like the idea of getting the ball at the feet of Kalou, who has a real good idea of what to do with it.

At least they were doing that, and nine minutes after the restart, Rosenior’s ball to the left found Kalou at a sprint. The Magpies midfield had sluffed off him and Salomon took off down the left wing with our first real break of the match.

He looked toward the box and saw Kitson starting his run a stride ahead of the defense. Kalou swung to his left to deliver a cross but then went down in a heap.

Taylor was running back for all he was worth and had challenged for the ball. Unfortunately for him, he scythed Kalou to the deck with a stinging tackle that got exactly none of the ball.

I was already pacing the technical area but now I was calling for substitutes to warm up as soon as Bennett blew his whistle. I knew he had no option and I wanted to take full advantage of playing against ten men.

Bennett showed Taylor his second yellow card, invited him to leave the premises early, and as a result I wanted 4-3-3 as soon as the players who could give it to me were warmed up.

Allardyce accepted the dismissal of his player with as much good grace as he could muster – and then took off both his strikers at the same time. Smith and Love walked side-by-side to the touchline, with Juan Pablo Garcia ready to lead the line and Tomas Hubschman heading on to the back line.

While the substitutes warmed up, I waved my arms forward, telling the players I wanted more pressure from the 4-1-3-2. I hoped for better stuff offensively while we prepared for a switch to a more offensive formation.

But even then, it never came. I waited as long as I could but then with twenty minutes to go I went ahead and made the moves I needed to make.

I took off Lita, who had been horribly disappointing alongside Kitson, and brought on Jon Oster to move to the right side while Kalou dropped in behind Kitson in a striker’s role. Maybe he could get us untracked.

That didn’t do it either. I finally pulled Kitson off in favor of Shane Long seven minutes from time, and went to a pure 4-3-3 with pressure all over the park.

At least, it was pressure on paper. It certainly wasn’t on the scoresheet. When Bennett blew for full time, it put both teams out of their misery.

Reading 0

Newcastle 0

A – 24,138, Madejski Stadium, Reading

Man of the Match – Christopher Samba, Newcastle

# # #

[Offspring8]

Ah well, it can't all be exciting.

"...ball at the feet of Kalou, who has a real good idea of what to do with it."

As a chelsea fan, I've watched Kalou on numerous occasions and in a Chelsea shirt, he seems to just get the ball, put his head down and just run to wherever his legs want to take him - it's for this reason that I have nicknamed him 'Bambi' . Such an unpredictable player (Which can be considered good and bad)

But anyways, back to the story, good work! Still enjoying it a lot and hoping for a top four finish for Reading

[tenthreeleader]

Offspring, I've noticed that too about Kalou ... but in-game his positioning has been good and I think playing on the wing agrees with him, at least with the ratings I have.

___

“Missed opportunity, no question about it,” I said to my Sky Sports questioner after the match. “We had over half an hour against ten men with the top goal-scoring record in the Premiership and we did absolutely nothing. I would have liked us to threaten, to move the ball, to do something – we are now getting ready for Chelsea and if we play like this against them we are in big, big trouble.”

“You missed Dagoberto, plainly.”

“Leroy did the best he could,” I said. “And I’m not criticizing him or his play, but he’s our impact substitute for a reason. We did miss Dagoberto today and there’s no disguising that. It is fact.”

“The statistics told the story, I feel,” the interviewer said. “Thirteen attempts at goal in the entire game, for both teams. Only five on target.”

“It was ugly,” I said. “I freely admit that. If you’d like me to use other words I’m sure I can find a few of them.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he smiled. I wasn’t smiling in reply.

It was just plain ugly.

# # #

I did get a surprise as I headed back to the changing room. I ran into one of my old bosses.

Walter Smith was on his way out the guests’ entrance when I walked by him. My old boss seemed glad to see me, which was certainly good.

We shook hands and I had to ask.

“Does this visit mean you’re going to be calling me?” I asked.

“I’m not here to scout your players today,” he said. “I’ve already done that. I’m here for one of Sam’s.”

I nodded. “I’m not sure whether to be upset about that or not,” I smiled.

“There are players on your squad we wouldn’t mind bringing to Ibrox,” he admitted. “But I see you’ve already turned down Gordon for Lita.”

“I did,” I said, “and frankly, Walter, I’d turn you down too.”

“Understandable,” he said. “Though the boy didn’t show much today, did he?”

“Unfortunately for us, no,” I said. “Try not to remind me, okay?”

He smiled. “That’s football,” he said, using the tried and true all-purpose phrase. “Get ‘em next time and good luck against Chelsea. I don’t envy you.”

“I don’t envy me either, Walter,” I mused. “But you have to play them all.”

“Good luck, lad,” he said. Since he brought me to Rangers in the first place, I didn’t see any harm in letting my old boss use a term of familiarity.

“You too, Walter,” I said. “Thanks for stopping by.”

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

The only other match of the day was a standoff between Villa and Derby at Villa Park. Ashley Young scored for the Villans and Nene, who is having a nice year for Derby, got the equalizer.

The other news of the day involved our own players. Alan Bennett agreed terms with West Brom and their money is in the bank. However, the money we got was offset by the fact that today marked Faé’s 50th appearance in a Reading shirt, which meant a £500,000 payment to Nantes.

That money will in turn be offset by the sale of Kalifa Cissé’s contract to Monaco. They gave us a bid of £500,000 for the player, which we accepted. We’ll also save £400,000 in salary for our reserve player which I can then apply elsewhere. I’ve got a few ideas as to how we can spend that salary – it might go toward a player named Baptista if I’m able to arrange it.

There is also interest in Brynjar Gunnarsson, and if we can make a deal there, I’ll save another £700,000 in annual salary that the board will find palatable as well. The reserve squad will be culled to a much more acceptable size, and I’ll be able to start the expansion of the Reading squad for my own, long-term purposes.

Yet as I left the stadium, all that was in the past. Patty was waiting for me outside the directors’ suite and wordlessly, she took my arm again.

“Love you,” she offered, as we headed down the stairs to the staff entrance.

“Love you more,” I replied. “How was it today?”

“They were good to me,” she said. “Everyone wants to help. That’s a great feeling.”

“What did you think they would do?” I asked. “They’re going to do everything they can.”

“I know,” she replied, as we reached the door and headed out into the cold late afternoon air. “It’s just going to take time.”

# # #

[left]  | Pos   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 1st   | Arsenal       | 20    | 15    | 1     | 4     | 41    | 14    | +27   | 46    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 2nd   | Chelsea       | 20    | 12    | 7     | 1     | 36    | 10    | +26   | 43    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]  | 3rd   | Reading       | 21    | 11    | 9     | 1     | 42    | 28    | +14   | 42    | [/b]
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 4th   | Man Utd       | 21    | 12    | 4     | 5     | 39    | 21    | +18   | 40    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 5th   | Man City      | 21    | 10    | 5     | 6     | 25    | 22    | +3    | 35    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 6th   | West Ham      | 21    | 11    | 2     | 8     | 34    | 33    | +1    | 35    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 7th   | Liverpool     | 20    | 8     | 8     | 4     | 33    | 21    | +12   | 32    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 8th   | Everton       | 20    | 7     | 9     | 4     | 24    | 17    | +7    | 30    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 9th   | Bolton        | 20    | 9     | 3     | 8     | 29    | 26    | +3    | 30    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 10th  | Aston Villa   | 21    | 7     | 8     | 6     | 27    | 30    | -3    | 29    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 11th  | Tottenham     | 21    | 8     | 4     | 9     | 32    | 33    | -1    | 28    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 12th  | Blackburn     | 20    | 8     | 2     | 10    | 33    | 33    | 0     | 26    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 13th  | Newcastle     | 21    | 6     | 6     | 9     | 24    | 29    | -5    | 24    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 14th  | Derby         | 21    | 6     | 6     | 9     | 28    | 35    | -7    | 24    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 15th  | Portsmouth    | 20    | 5     | 7     | 8     | 31    | 36    | -5    | 22    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 16th  | Charlton      | 21    | 5     | 7     | 9     | 25    | 42    | -17   | 22    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 17th  | Middlesbrough | 21    | 6     | 2     | 13    | 26    | 37    | -11   | 20    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 18th  | West Brom     | 20    | 3     | 7     | 10    | 27    | 38    | -11   | 16    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 19th  | Birmingham    | 21    | 4     | 3     | 14    | 17    | 33    | -16   | 15    | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
 | 20th  | Cardiff       | 21    | 2     | 2     | 17    | 10    | 45    | -35   | 8     | 
 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 


[/left]

[Marchie]

What's Liverpool doing at 7th?....... Sign......

[stoehrst]

Reading must make the cl, and newcastle must survive!!!!

[tenthreeleader]

Marchie, Liverpool stumbled out of the gate but as one of the Big Four I expect them back into the thick of things soon. And Stoehrst, I couldn't agree with you more

___

Monday, January 12

The hype is beginning for Chelsea and now it can’t be avoided.

We have two days to prepare for them so today was intense from the beginning. Having seen their match on television on Saturday we didn’t spend quite so much time on video. Instead, we concentrated on the advance scouting report we get before each match we play.

The subplots are pretty juicy – Ferreira and Kalou coming home, second hosting third, upstarts challenge arguably the biggest of the Big Four – it’s all there. It’s going to be quite a week.

We played twice last week and we’re going to play twice this week as well. We will return home to host Charlton on Saturday but obviously no one in our colors is looking past Chelsea to get to them.

We have a chance to make a statement, like we feel we made when we traveled to Anfield on Boxing Day and got the draw.

This time, if we get the result, it will be a real statement. Amazingly, we have yet to lose to Big Four opposition – we have two wins and three draws in all competitions, with both victories coming over Arsenal. Of those matches, though, only two have been away from home. Chelsea, with all their money, is perhaps the ultimate challenge.

Michael Johnson, their £20 million acquisition from Manchester City, is expected to play. If they get Micah Richards as well, as some papers are speculating they might, one wonders if they may have to form a second team to make sure everyone gets to play.

As surprising as it may sound, even with all their talent Chelsea’s reserve team is dead last in the reserve league in which we play. Our reserves, now without Cissé and Bennett, will host Chelsea tomorrow night at the Recreation Ground and our own players are mid-table in that league. I’d like to see improvement there, obviously, since depth is our main issue. However, that is going to take time – at least another couple of transfer windows to let me bring in some players who will fill the bill better and eventually grow into first-team performers.

Right now, that isn’t what we have in our reserve team. The 18-year old goalkeeping prodigy Simon Shaw is already playing reserve football and he’s over his head right at the moment. Cathcart and Gaspari are playing more there, and players like Scott Golbourne and Jem Karacan may well make future Reading squads. The trouble is that I need more players like them. And I need them to get better.

Meanwhile, Chelsea spends multi-millions to bring in talent I can only dream about. It’s just one more reason why so many people despair of catching the Big Four.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

There was a reason Walter Smith didn’t elaborate much on why he was at the Mad Stad yesterday.

Under the headline “Royals Out of Toon”, Weatherby both criticized our lack of industry and dealt with the visit of the Rangers’ boss at the same time.

“In its first twenty matches of this Premier League season, Reading had not played a goalless draw. Yesterday’s match will therefore hopefully not be the norm for Rob Ridgway’s players.

To say it was drab would be an understatement. To say it was awful football would be accurate. To say it had better not happen at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday would be a necessity.

Thankfully, the Royals have established enough of a track record this season to indicate that they probably won’t be this bad through the remaining eighteen matches on the fixture list. If they are, well, I shudder to think about it.

They missed Dagoberto. They missed him in ways I’m sure they haven’t even realized yet and won’t until the coaching staff reviews the video. Leroy Lita, Reading’s ‘Mr. Impact’ off the bench, looked like he wanted to go back there and it’s quite possible Ridgway may oblige him.

There was no movement off the ball, no one except for the energetic Salomon Kalou was working to find space, and when Reading players did get the ball, no one wanted to go near Joey Barton for understandable reasons.

That is why Rangers manager Walter Smth was in the stands yesterday – he was running the rule over one of the EPL’s most controversial players in a bid to introduce some desperately needed toughness into his own side. However, one truly wonders if anyone needs that much, or that kind, of tough play.”

First and foremost, I didn’t care for the implication that we were somehow afraid of Joey Barton. After all, he can’t carry lit cigarettes with him onto the pitch.

But Weatherby did have a legitimate point – we weren’t aggressive and it showed. We weren’t aggressive against ten men, which was bad. We weren’t aggressive against ten men on our home patch, which borders on unforgiveable.

So today’s training session was based mostly on the things we didn’t do yesterday. We were decent in defense but that was at least partly due to Newcastle being even worse than we were when they were in possession.

Somehow, though, I don’t think Allardyce minds his team’s display as much as I mind mine. Sam has done a great job getting Newcastle stabilized, and that was what I told the media looking for day-after reaction this afternoon.

“Sometimes people do forget that both teams are entitled to try to play the game,” I explained. “We are not happy with our play. Don’t get me wrong. But the other team does have something to do with that and Newcastle was much better than they were when we played them in the northeast. Someone deserves credit for that and I happen to think it’s Sam. It’s probably too late for them to make a serious push for anything other than the top half of the table but he’s on the right track, no doubt in my mind.”

Then the questioning moved to Wednesday. And my old friend was back.

“Rob, you switched formations to go to Liverpool and came out 4-5-1. Is it safe to say we’ll see that formation again now that you are playing opposition stronger than you away from home?”

I just looked at him for a minute. “Stefano, first let me defend my players. We’re third in the league for a reason. One of those reasons is that we haven’t yet lost to a team in the Big Four in five tries in all competitions. So as far as being weaker, let me say this. With no disrespect to Avram Grant intended, I think someone is going to have to prove that to us on the pitch before I’ll answer a question based on that premise.”

“Can I really write that?” he asked.

I nodded. “Go ahead. My job is to improve this football club and I think by most measures we can say that it is improved,” I said in a rare foray into controversy. “We’ve had our bumps, yes, and we’ve had our moments where we have been unable to make things easier for ourselves. But this is a competitive game, played at the highest level on the planet and so far after 21 matches we are holding our own.”

“Are you saying you are going to go to Stamford Bridge and get a result?”

The water was getting very deep now. “I am saying that we should go there and compete – as we did at Anfield, as we did at the Emirates and as I certainly hope we’ll be able to do at Old Trafford. Whether that will be enough, no one can say, and Chelsea certainly will be looking to put on a show. But we are at the point in our development now where we can put a strong eleven out there regardless of who we play and be a credit to the shirt.”

# # #

[mark wilson27]

Loving the story as always Tenthree, top three not bad at all, shame United are still behind you which isn't acceptable at all....

Just realised, you've got the honour of my 3000th post in these forums

KUTGW mate

[tenthreeleader]

Mark, thank you for the kind words and now I guess you should change your handle to "Mark Wilson3K"

___

Tuesday, January 13

I’ve made some decisions that are going to be regarded as risks for tomorrow. Yet I don’t know how else we can play.

We will break from our usual and customary and start in 4-5-1. Yet my lone striker won’t be Lita. Neither will it be Kitson.

It will be the former Blue, Kalou.

Kitson, as hard as he tries, is the wrong choice to lead the line as a single striker. He’s much better as a targetman and holder of the ball. So I need poise, patience and above all pace – all things Kalou has in abundance.

With Kalou’s spot in the eleven as an attacking wing now open, that restores Hunt to the starting group. And I am not satisfied with the play of Faé on the right, so I have dropped him to the bench in favor of John Oster, who has been better able to get crosses in both in training this week as well as in the matches he’s played. Getting supply to a single striker is going to be absolutely vital if we are to have any chance of success tomorrow and that means I can’t mess around. It also means I can’t afford to be wrong.

We’ll play 4-5-1 with two holders, so Harper is also back into the eleven. We’re setting out to play defensively with instructions to counter when the opportunity is there. I expect Chelsea to come out strongly and we need to remember a single goal can win the match.

We have played very well defensively this season – at times. When we set our minds to it, we are able to play well from the goal outward. Tomorrow will need to be one of those times, especially in the continued absence of Dagoberto and Pogatetz.

I have had to rule my joint top scorer out for tomorrow as well, since he still can’t run at full speed on his damaged heel. The goal now is to have him ready for Charlton at the weekend.

That’s problem enough. Placing Kalou forward instead of on the wing means I can put Lita back on the bench, where I am convinced he is better. His performance in the starting role against Newcastle was weak at best and now it’s going to take more convincing than ever for me to believe otherwise.

I told him that today and Leroy nodded. He knew he had had his chance and knew also that he had to be better than he was.

“I’ll just have to keep trying,” he told me. “It’s not like I didn’t work hard.”

That was true. I had seen the videos and had also seen the match itself, of course. He wasn’t misleading me.

“Work is one thing, Leroy,” I told him. “Application of that work is something else. When you come off the bench you play with more urgency and you make things happen. That’s the sort of play we need from you. Just be ready when your number is called, and I know you can do that.”

With that, he went back to training, determined to prove himself all over again.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Word of yesterday’s news conference is now in the national papers, and the brash young American manager is being seen as stroking his own ego.

“Good enough for Chelsea” , the Star’s headline blared, which made me wonder if my honesty of yesterday was really such a good idea.

I came to the conclusion that it was. I don’t think it’s in our best interests for tomorrow to simply say we’re happy with survival. We want to go where Chelsea is, of course, and the only way to do that is to beat them. Sooner or later, if we want to become an elite club, we’ll have to do that.

Right now we’re decent – bordering on very good when we play the way we’re capable. I need to make sure my players know it and above all, make sure they believe it.

To do that, sometimes the manager needs to man up and say what has to be said. The master at it, in my mind, was Sir Alex Ferguson. Sometimes you’d read his published comments and wonder what he could possibly have been thinking. What he was doing was running interference for his team. Whether you liked him or not, whether you liked Manchester United or not, it’s hard to argue that he was absolutely consistent for his club.

I’ve got a long, long ways to go before people realize what I’m doing. But I have to start somewhere.

Today’s discussion with the media centered around Dagoberto not being available for the biggest match of our season. Naturally, the angle of the media was that we would fold under pressure.

“We are going to get a great test tomorrow, no doubt,” I said. “We are going to find out how much we’ve learned and how far we have to go. But I do want to say this about Dagoberto. He’s a big part of our offense, yes, but it does need to be said that good teams find a way around adversity. Handling adversity is how you define a team. We’re being written off, but what we have here is a chance to show we’re a real team.”

“The next guy in line has to step up and get the job done. All I will say in conclusion is this: adversity doesn’t build a team’s character. It reveals it.”

# # #

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Just like to say, only read this one page...but this is amazing story, very good!

[Manxie_Ash]

Read the rest you are in for a right treat

[The-Perfect-Fm'er!]

Read the rest you are in for a right treat

I'm struggling for 5 hours of free time!!!

[tenthreeleader]

Fellows, thank you ... I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you enjoy reading, even though at this stage of the story picking it up from the beginning would be a bit of a job. There's a lot more to come ...

___

I talked with Patty for most of the coach trip into London this afternoon. She is doing better today – after yesterday, unfortunately, she could scarcely have been worse – but my purpose was to stay with her in the best way I could while still forced to be away from her.

I really haven’t had as much opportunity to dwell on things as she has. I’m not sure if that is good or bad, frankly – I need time to process and not do it in an atmosphere of complete hatred toward McGuire and Kate.

It’s good that I’ve been able to concentrate. However, I can’t help but feel that it’s coming with an emotional cost that won’t be fun to pay when the bill arrives.

The pain Patty and I are going through is, I imagine, comparable in its way to what Kate has gone through since she learned of her husband’s affair with the woman who would become my wife. Every time Kate thinks about what “might have been” in her relationship with me, she now has to think about me being very much in love with someone her husband once used quite cruelly. That has to be difficult.

Kate has had virtually nothing to do with the club since this all became public, and I think that is deliberate. She has more important things to worry about now – like her three kids and what she is going to do with the rest of her life.

Yet now, I feel sorry for her. That’s probably nothing she cares about, but I do. She had the opportunity to make her life a lot different than it is now, and she turned it down.

She, though, is quite far down my list of concerns. Patty and I spoke quietly throughout the trip to London and spent the better part of an hour simply enjoying a conversation.

For both of us, that was the best thing that could have happened.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Wednesday, January 14

Chelsea (12-7-1, 2nd place) v Reading (11-9-1, 3rd place) – EPL Match Day #22

Today, Avram Grant returned the favor.

Our coach rolled toward Stamford Bridge on the Fulham Road into Walham Green, and when we came to a stop, I saw my host for the day waiting inside the players’ entrance.

I smiled as the Israeli extended his hand. “Rob, it’s my turn,” he said. “Welcome to Stamford Bridge.”

I thanked him, he extended an invitation for a glass of wine after the match and he was gone, as I had been when his side came to the Madejski. It was a sporting gesture, and I appreciated it.

Today my trip around the ground was a bit abbreviated. The history of the place, though, isn’t.

Stamford Bridge has been open since 1877 and it’s hosted everything from football to auto racing to greyhound racing to athletics to American football, as home of the London Monarchs in 1997.

Of course now, it’s all football all the time, and Roman Abramovich wouldn’t mind seeing the place expanded. That’s a story for a different time, though at the rate he’s been spending money since taking over the club, I wouldn’t blame him for wanting a bit of extra seating capacity to help pay the bills.

Yet walking around the place, you sense there’s tradition everywhere, as well as the success that gigantic influxes of cash bring in this game. The Centenary Museum does huge business for the club, with interactive exhibits of club greats past and present.

I didn’t go in there, for obvious reasons, but as one of the Big Four, Chelsea has ways to generate revenue that a lot of clubs don’t have. The great stadium started to come to life, and that meant it was time to end my walkaround and visit my players.

# # #

[Marchie]

Still the best!

[Nathan Pike]

This will be a big test for the "Rat Pack".