Rob Ridgway's "Rat Pack"

[viperk1]

Again, the teams lined up for the start of the second half. This time, Grant had a much different look on his face.

I'm really happy that Avram is less than impressed - go on, Rob! Finish the job!

KUTGW, 10-3 - your story is becoming better by the post.

[tenthreeleader]

Thank you Viper ... always great to hear from you and I appreciate your kindness!

___

The first thing I saw was that Shevchenko was not on the pitch. Michael Ballack was, as Grant had gone to 4-3-3. I scrapped 4-3-1-2 immediately, whistling for Maloney to tell him I wanted a flat 4-4-2 in response. From my point of view I was reluctant to drop back to the 4-5-1 immediately – in this case, I judged that part of playing “our game” involved two strikers – and after the half began I soon became glad I held off.

Pogatetz got stuck right into Joe Cole barely five minutes into the half, with a clean but devastating challenge that left the former West Ham man in a bad way. He came off for a moment of treatment and couldn’t continue, forcing Grant into his second substitution before 50 minutes had been played.

This time it was the £37 million man himself – Rossi jogged onto the pitch for his debut as Chelsea went to 4-4-2 in a formation change I’m sure Grant didn’t want.

I held our formation in response, as it now matched theirs. I had the added advantage of still having all three of my substitutions still to make. The change in Grant’s plans was plainly vexing him, but it didn’t seem to show much in the attitude of his players, who resumed their attacking bent as though nothing had happened.

Now Lobont was called into action, first to stop Drogba’s twenty-yard effort and then to palm an unintentional effort from Ashley Cole over the bar. Cole had meant to cross the ball but it was too tall for Drogba’s head and Lobont had to make an unexpectedly good reflex save.

The tension was starting to build. I wanted nothing more than to see a decent counter from my team and on 71 minutes we got it. Kitson took a very nice ball from Magallón straight up route one to Cech, who made a brilliant save on the striker’s rising drive.

Finally, it was time to make the move. I brought on James Harper as a second holding midfielder in place of Convey and made the move to 4-5-1, also pulling Kitson off for the raw pace of Leroy Lita as the lone forward. Dagoberto played off Lita to the left while Faé did the same on the right. Maloney now reverted to a pure central midfield spot supported by Harper and Magallón.

On the Chelsea bench, Grant was preparing to play his last card. Shaun Wright-Phillips prepared to step onto the pitch to inject some badly needed pace into the Chelsea attack. Their players were starting to suffer from the heat like ours were – even though it was a bit windy, the temperature at kickoff was 29C, or 84F – and they needed a spark.

Throughout the match, Ferreira had fastidiously avoided looking at me, wanting more than anything to play against his former club. Now I nodded to him and he sprang out of his chair like a flash. Pogatetz, though in reasonable match fitness, was dragging and was ready to come off.

Moments later, both sides made their final substitutions, with Rosenior moving to the left and Ferreira taking the right side of my back line. Wright-Phillips also sprinted to the fore and now I was in full instructional mode.

I stood at the very edge of my technical area, arms spread wide to indicate I wanted a slow pace played as wide as possible, hopefully into the corners as we looked for ways to waste time.

Two minutes from time, with the crowd screaming in support, we got the ball into a wonderful position on the left and Dagoberto strode straight into the Chelsea area. He took the shot without hesitation but Cech parried it away to his left, onto the boot of Ashley Cole. Looking to clear his lines, he launched a long ball to the left side of midfield where Daniel Alves was waiting. He flicked on – and it was a footrace for the ball between two substitutes.

Rossi was flying, straining to catch up to the ball with Ferreira hot on his heels. Both were behind the rest of my defense and Lobont raced out to cut down the angle, or better yet, to collect. Inside the right edge of the penalty area, keeper, defender and attacker all converged on the ball at the same time.

# # #

[O\'Hara_fan]

Oh my god, I've seen penalites given for those...

[Polar Bear]

10-3, you TEASE!

[salkster2102]

meanie nice cliffhanger though

[bingitz]

Christ, you know how to keep an audience on its toes! I have a guess at what will happen, but I'll keep that to myself for now. KUTGW!

[tenthreeleader]

Gentlemen, thanks very much ... haven't tried a cliffhanger in my match writing yet so I thought this might be good place to start! Now to our last-minute drama...

___

“Get him, Paolo!” I screamed, like it would have been some sort of help. Rossi got there first.

My Portuguese defender made one last effort, throwing a leg in front of Rossi’s shot – and deflecting it. He tipped the ball right into Lobont’s stomach.

Unfortunately, the keeper’s hands were spread wide to block any shot. Since Ferreira was now off balance, he now slid helplessly past his keeper, the attacker and the ball. Whoever reacted first would win the last battle of the match.

It was Rossi. He beat Lobont back to the ball and despite Sonko racing for all he was worth to help, the debutant fired into the empty goal with eighty seconds of normal time remaining. Chelsea had leveled.

Rossi threw his arms in the air and slid on his knees at the corner flag in celebration, mobbed by his teammates, while everyone in a blue and white shirt stood with arms over their heads in despair. The stadium went from an audio blast furnace to something considerably less, with the away support now screaming out its lungs.

I stood, hands on hips, while my squad looked to me for a reaction. I gave them a look of calm that belied the frustration I felt at conceding so close to time, clapping my hands in a ‘let’s go’ gesture as we lined up for the kickoff.

Both teams seemed satisfied with the score, though, and Rennie soon sounded the full time whistle after two minutes of added time. This time, as I approached Grant for a handshake, his mood had changed again. He still wasn’t happy, but one point was better than none.

“Well played, Rob,” he said. “To you and your players.”

“Thank you, Avram. You too,” I said. “After the media, my office is open.”

Heading off the pitch through the lower doors, I turned left to the home changing rooms and Grant turned right to the visitors’. I was the last one in, and I closed the door behind me.

The players sat, disconsolate. Ferreira sat in front of his locker with his head in his hands. There wasn’t a thing I could say to him – he had done his best but felt he had let down his new club. Worse yet, he felt he had let down his new club against his old one.

I walked past him on the way to the center of the room and simply clapped him on the shoulder. “Shake it off,” I said, as I passed. He looked up at me with a look borne of bewilderment mixed with the expression of a man who feels he’s just had a sentence commuted.

I spoke up now, standing next to the seated, and dejected, Ferreira. “I’m proud of this team,” I said. “You went head up against a great side today and you deserved to beat them. The fact that you didn’t means we have to go back to the drawing board for Spurs at midweek but I’m not going to fault anyone for what happened today. They made a good play and they scored to take two points away from us. That happens in this game. Well done to all of you. We’re taking tomorrow off and I’ll see you here at nine o’clock Monday morning.”

Reading 1 (Maloney 1st, 5)

Chelsea 1 (Rossi 1st, 89)

A – 24,116, Madejski Stadium, Reading

Man of the Match – Shaun Maloney, Reading

# # #

The media crush was impressive. Chelsea’s star power drew some of it, my nationality drew some of it, and the regular English media provided the rest. The American media went straight for the chairman, presumably to see how much trouble I was in for the team conceding so late.

Madejski wouldn’t give them the satisfaction, though, which I appreciated. “We played well today, well enough to win but we didn’t get the points,” I heard him say as I approached the interview area. “Points against Chelsea have always been difficult to earn and we truly earned this one. I’m pleased.”

When I entered, though, the attention shifted and I looked apologetically at my boss to let him know I didn’t mean for that attention shift to take place. I took my seat at a table in the front of the interview area in the 1871 Suite and waited for the questions to fly.

The first was from Weatherby. “You nearly had them,” she observed.

“We nearly did,” I agreed. “Unfortunately, most matches I’m aware of go at least 90 minutes. We got to the 89th before they found a way to goal. We do think we deserved a better fate today and I don’t mind saying that.”

“You did a better job against their stars than some might have expected,” I heard from a fellow wearing a BBC nameplate.

“I expect my players to carry out their assignments,” I said, not caring for the tenor of the question. “We have some good talent on this club and we’ll make our mark before the season is done.”

“But did you really think you’d hold out this long?”

“The longer the match wore on, the more confident I became,” I said. “These players believed they could do a job today and were just a few minutes short of doing it. I won’t fault that, I won’t fault the effort, and I will surely take the result. I’m proud of these players.”

“And what of your debut? What is the story behind the rose on your lapel?”

“Some of you may have seen my wife give that to me this morning,” I said. “It’s a big day for our little family and I was very glad she could be here to see the match today.”

“Has it all seemed overwhelming to you at times? Your wife’s photo shoot appeared this week to wonderful reviews, you start your Premiership career here today against Chelsea – did it seem like it might all be too much?”

“It has been a hectic week and I’m tired. I will admit that,” I said. “There has been a fair bit of pressure around this week but it has been self-placed. I expected a lot out of myself today and my players delivered. I will sleep well tonight.”

The regular portion of the news conference ended and the American media got its hooks into me. Eventually, I had to tell them to wait.

“I’ll be back,” I said. “I have a tradition I have to take care of first.”

With that, I disappeared down the hallway, with some media following. I met Grant outside the door to the Chelsea rooms and together we headed into my office, which is off-limits to media.

“Sorry I’m late,” I smiled, and my opponent gave a tired smile in reply.

“I was just catching my breath,” he said, as I showed him into my office. I produced a bottle of wine and a corkscrew as he sat opposite my desk. “It’s not every day you manage your first match in this league and it is a special day for you. Your boys made sure we got extended to the end. Welcome to the top flight.”

# # #

She met me outside my office. It was wonderful to see her.

Patty had the same thrilling smile on her face that she had when we had entered the stadium, and as Grant left she got to meet the Chelsea manager in passing.

She gently touched the rose on my lapel as we greeted each other with a happy hug and kiss.

“This is in a lot better shape than the last rose I gave you,” she said.

“I should think so, since it’s now pressed in our living room,” I smiled. “This one will be too, even though we didn’t win.”

“You came close, she said, taking my arm as we walked back out the door and to my waiting car.

“Close doesn’t always cut it in this business,” I reminded her. “We’re going to have to do better.”

“I can help with part of that,” she said, as I drove us home.

# # #

[Spav]

Being a Chelsea fan I'd have to say that a 1-1 draw was a fair result on Rob's league debut.

[salkster2102]

aww was hoping you could beat them but their is always next time. unlucky

[tenthreeleader]

Well, Spav, glad I split the difference with you! Salkster, just wait 'til we get them at the Bridge

___

Sunday, August 10

Today’s big news – on the pitch, that is – is that Spurs are top of the league after the first round of matches after thrashing ten-man West Ham 4-1 at Upton Park in yesterday’s opener behind a brace from Robbie Keane.

Two of the newly promoted sides played yesterday as well and neither of them lost – Cardiff City drew 3-3 at home to Portsmouth and West Brom drew Newcastle 2-2 at the Hawthorns.

Birmingham knocked off Derby 2-0 behind goals from Olivier Kapo and Gary McSheffrey, and Blackburn survived Daniel Braaten’s goal five minutes from time to beat Bolton 2-1 thanks to a winning strike from Roque Santa Cruz.

So, as the English music group Stealer’s Wheel might say, we’re “stuck in the middle” after our 1-1 draw with Chelsea yesterday. Only twelve of the twenty Premier League clubs played this weekend, though, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all out of action for the time being.

United has a Champions League qualifier on Wednesday but for some reason, neither Liverpool nor Arsenal were scheduled at all on the first weekend of the season – which is really odd. Neither club needs to qualify for the Champions League so it does make me wonder why they got the first weekend off.

The papers were kind to us, except for the Reading Evening Post, which couldn’t be kind as it doesn’t publish on weekends. The national press weren’t so kind to the Blues, so evidently they were expecting a heavy away win yesterday that they didn’t get.

The Sunday People evidently expected the most from Grant’s charges, as evidenced by their match headline of "Royal Flush", even though we didn’t win. Their match report was evidently less than impressed by my squad and was therefore even less impressed with our visitors:

“Celtic and Aston Villa castoff Shaun Maloney was the man in form for Reading yesterday as the Royals managed a 1-1 draw against Chelsea’s high-powered attack. Reading boss Rob Ridgway, making his top-flight debut, will have been delighted to see his undermanned home side hang in against the run of play until Giuseppi Rossi saved Chelsea’s blushes at the death.

Reading spent barely ten percent of Chelsea’s £87 million transfer outlay in the close season, but the Royals hung in despite ever-increasing Chelsea pressure at the end of the match. Still, Avram Grant should note before another Chelsea title challenge goes up in smoke: better is needed because better opposition than yesterday’s is surely on the way.”

“Gee, thanks a lot,” I said to no one, reading the morning paper at the breakfast table. Patty wasn’t yet awake and after the tension of her week, I decided to let her sleep. I, on the other hand, slept well and soundly after the events of yesterday.

I headed into my study area and turned on my computer for a quick e-mail check before enjoying my Sunday. I saw a message notifying me that Wednesday’s scheduled matchup against Spurs is postponed until August 27 due to international callups. That’s great news – we now have a full week to prepare for Newcastle and I could spend my Sunday evening watching video in advance of Monday’s training.

I also noticed an e-mail from a familiar address and clicked on it. The subject line was “Happiness for Reading” and I knew who had written it. Her tone was quite different from the last time she had written me, back in April:

Rob:

Just wanted you to know I was at the match yesterday screaming my lungs out for Reading and its new boss. Well done.

Glad to have you back. If you’ve got time for lunch sometime, I’d welcome the chance to talk. Last time I saw you didn’t go so well and I’d like to fix that.

With love,

Kate

# # #

[Papa]

Excellent read tenthreeleader but be careful with this Kate bird, sounds like trouble to me!

[Haowan]

BOO! FRIENDS WITH GRANT?

be sure to get on the good side of Man Utd <winks>

anyways KUTGW and never ever cheat on Patty <winks>

[tenthreeleader]

Papa ... thanks for the warning. Kate has some history, as entries from the first book of this series show. Welcome to Haowan too ... seems that since Grant agreed to sell me a good player that I should at least be nice to him!

___

The Sunday papers have been quite busy with speculation as the transfer window continues to roll on. The biggest story deals with the raw audacity of Real Madrid.

They’ve long been linked with a move for Manchester United’s Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, but today’s Guardian reported that Real is preparing a double swoop – not only for Ronaldo, but also for Carlos Tévez.

Not surprisingly, Steve Coppell has reacted negatively to this. United did sell defender Gerard Pique to Sevilla today for £10.75 million, a figure that approaches half my transfer budget for the season, but Coppell has also issued about the sharpest hands-off warning I’ve ever seen to Madrid.

It was a big day for The Observer, which also reported Coppell’s interest in Fiorentina keeper Sebastian Frey. England candidate Ben Foster patrols between the sticks for United at the moment, but it appears Coppell’s first real purchase in this market may be huge.

United, Liverpool and Arsenal have all been very quiet in this window so one wonders whether Coppell, Rafa Benitez and Arsene Wenger are holding cards close to the vest or if they’re preparing to splash the cash right at the deadline. Inquiring minds want to know.

Also, the Press Association reported this afternoon that Wenger may listen to offers for his captain, defender William Gallas. Inter are interested, but before the day was out Gallas had replied through his agent saying that he neither wanted to leave the Gunners nor had solicited an offer from Inter or anyone else.

The subplots of this game are almost as much fun as managing the matches can be. As I sit here in my living room, managing a mid-sized Premiership club that would like to be bigger, I was left to remark that those kinds of huge-money deals are still in the future for me.

# # #

Or are they? My phone rang at 4:00 this afternoon and Madejski was on the other end of the line.

“Kalou has agreed terms,” he said. “The board are prepared to grant you permission to make the signing but as a condition of the sale we have to have the work permit application ready by tomorrow.”

“Kalou is in China in the Olympics,” I said. “He’s captaining Ivory Coast. How big a problem is it to get his signature?”

“That is why the young man has an agent,” my chairman responded. “That is none of our concern. I’m told the application has already been signed in anticipation of terms, and will be in our hands tomorrow morning. We will then submit the application to the Home Office by close of business tomorrow.”

It just goes to show what can happen when someone really wants to change clubs, I suppose.

# # #

[O\'Hara_fan]

Today’s big news – on the pitch, that is – is that Spurs are top of the league after the first round of matches after thrashing ten-man West Ham 4-1 at Upton Park in yesterday’s opener behind a brace from Robbie Keane.

Now thats what I call a good start.

[flipsix3]

Great stuff Tenthree, of course, and glad to have helped with the info on UK national papers.

Keep up the excellent work!!

[SCIAG]

Neither does the Guardian, it's the Observer on Sundays.

[tenthreeleader]

Flipsix and SCIAG, thanks very much for your constructive and helpful comments. I appreciate you helping me meet my own standards for this work. Nice also to know you're reading with a critical eye - also much appreciated! O'Hara, a strong start for Spurs, yes, but a bit of a setback follows...

___

Monday, August 11

Ah, the Sun.

“More Patty Ridgway inside!” today’s headline blared, and my heart sank. I opened the paper to find my wife’s smiling visage adorning Page Three, obviously left over from News of the World.

She wasn’t undressed, of course, but the caption noted that due to public demand, her pretty face was being re-printed for all to see.

I shook my head sadly. “We’re going to regret doing this, I can feel it,” I said. “I can just feel it.”

# # #

I got even more good news before the workday ever started. As I reported for training, my Blackberry buzzed and I read an e-mail telling me that Kalou’s request for a work permit has been turned down.

I was quite surprised that it had been turned in so quickly – and both surprised and disappointed that the application had been denied with even greater speed.

I mumbled an exceptionally rude word in response to the text and thought through the facts of the matter. Kalou is 23 years old, has already won 15 caps for Ivory Coast and is presently playing at the Olympic Games. He’s getting nothing but international matches in the process, and will play against Brazil tomorrow. What else does the Home Office need for evidence of international experience?

I wrote a two-word response to the e-mail: “Please appeal.”

Also this evening, the Reading paper could finally weigh in and they were fairly optimistic after the draw with mighty Chelsea.

My subtlety in choice of pre-match music was noticed as well, but not in a negative way. In her story entitled “Not Bad”, Weatherby noted both the change in tactic as well as the change in atmosphere:

“The pre-match festivities at the Madejski Stadium have been family-friendly for some years now but if you listened closely there was a hip-hop message from the new manager just before kickoff. A source within the club says Rob Ridgway wanted to send a message to his players and to anyone in the stadium who was attentive enough to notice. The message in the song played was that money and prestige don’t matter – it’s ‘how you drive what you’ve got’, according to the lyrics of the song by the group Kazzer.

By all accounts, the Royals did a fine job driving ‘what they’ve got’ and nearly stole all three points off a member of the Big Four at the same time. Whether the message sent will still be heard at the next home match or whether it will disappear forever remains to be seen. However, the message has been sent. That much cannot be denied.”

# # #

We will be a bit short for training this week but hopefully won’t be too short for the match at Newcastle. Magallón and Convey both left after Saturday’s match on Saturday for CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers with Mexico and the United States respectively. At this point in time, with Kalou still not in the fold, Steven Hunt is the only option on the left side of midfield and will likely get the start for us at the weekend.

The table looks a bit different as well. Boro beat Charlton worse than Spurs beat West Ham, with a 5-1 dismissal at the Riverside that shows my old boss Alan Pardew has some work on. Former Rangers man Thomas Buffel scored a brace for Gareth Southgate and if Gareth is anything less than thrilled by that outcome I’ve really missed my guess. Everton and Villa played to a goalless draw in the other match of yesterday so we’re tenth at the moment while we wait for the weekend to arrive.

# # #

I got another two-word text at lunch today, but it wasn’t from the club.

“I’m sorry,” the text read. It was from Patty.

When we broke for lunch I retreated to my office for a little relationship maintenance. I called Patty, who had her first day with her new firm in Reading today, and caught her at her desk.

“I won’t take long because I know you’re probably busy on your first day on the job,” I said. “But look, you don’t need to apologize for this stuff. As long as you have your clothes on in the paper, it’s fine with me.”

She accepted that for the time being and when we hung up I called Freddie Eaton in London.

“I need you to level with me,” I said. “I’m seeing Patty’s picture in the papers again this morning and she’s got some misgivings because she knows I’m nervous about it. I need your honest opinion. Is this going to be an ongoing issue?”

He paused for a moment before replying. “It is possible,” he finally said. “At first the papers wanted your wife’s pictures because you had made news by coming back to England, to the Premiership, and you had a great story to tell. Now the papers want your wife’s pictures because they’ve seen she has ‘the look’. You must be wary of this and you may need to come to a decision as a couple.”

“Where does this come from?” I asked. “I mean, I know Patty’s pretty and all, but…”

“…sometimes people simply get discovered, and it can happen at various stages in a person’s life,” he answered. “I have received enquiries just over the weekend from six different firms who all want your wife to model various things. It is coming quite suddenly but just like someone who wins a television talent competition from out of nowhere, sometimes fame can be quite sudden.”

“She’s not prepared for this,” I said. “I know her, I know what makes her tick, and I’m frightened for her. She’s just started a new job and she doesn’t need the added pressure. Who knows, she may not be working there for long.”

“Then that is a decision the two of you will have to make,” he answered. “As of now, you are employing me to represent both of you. If you want my advice from a standpoint of endorsements and media, that is why I am here. I cannot and will not make a personal decision for you even if you ask me to assist. That decision is yours alone. I cannot interfere.”

“I understand, of course,” I answered. “Please don’t misunderstand me, Freddie. You’ve done a great job and you’re giving Patty good advice. It’s just that I’ve got some misgivings that have nothing to do with your work.”

The kindly man on the other end of the phone then softened his tone. “Rob, there is something you need to understand. At some point in time in the life of every celebrity, there’s a point where they’re famous for the first time. Now, no one knows how long your wife’s new found fame will last – but there is a certain amount of adjustment that has to be made and everyone needs to make that adjustment. I happen to think that your wife has a pretty good support group around her and that includes you. So help her, and see where it takes you.”

# # #

[masta p]

Brilliant! The first thing I do when i get at work, is to read your story. I really like it and I hope you'll continue writing.

[Goofus]

Morning Mr Rob Ridgway

Your consent will be needed to include you in a series of short stories closely related to a real-life television series, entitled 'This Is Your Life'

Please state whether you accept or decline as soon as possible

Thank you and have a nice day.

[tenthreeleader]

Masta, thanks for your kind words! Nice to know this story is on your list of "things to do".

Goofus, Mr. (and Mrs.) Ridgway's personal appearances are handled by the firm of Ray, Eaton and Richardson in London. However, I have it on good authority that you probably won't have too much trouble with them

___

Tuesday, August 12

Word is out about Kalou, and about our appeal. Convey is quite unhappy this morning and I can’t blame him.

I can blame him, though, for what followed. He called me from the States at noon our time – which meant he was up awfully early.

“So, what’s going on with my transfer?” he asked. Nothing like getting to the point, especially by long-distance.

“Bobby, the club is trying and you know that,” I said. “We’ve sent out two notices in the last week and we’re waiting for response.”

“You’re trying to tell me that nobody wants me?” he asked. “That’s crap and you know it. How am I being valued?”

“Your agent knows that,” I said. “We’re in contact with him and I know you are too. The club wants value in exchange for selling your contract and also you know that. Further, you know that our asking price is substantially below the club’s actual valuation. We are trying to accommodate your wishes.”

“So why bring in Kalou, and why do I find out by the internet? Can’t you at least let me play my way out of here?”

I remained patient. “Because I have the chance to bring in a superb footballer for a price that is reasonable to this club,” I said. “After all, you won’t be here forever and despite your willingness to leave I still have to replace you. I do not want that replacement to come as a panic buy at the end of the transfer window.”

“He doesn’t even have a work permit,” Convey said, telling me nothing I didn’t already know. “What if he doesn’t get one? How do you replace me then?”

"Bobby, look,” I finally said. “I really don’t want confrontation with you and I refuse to argue with you about internal club matters. Here is what you need to know: the club is trying to move you in accordance with your expressed wish for a transfer. We are working with your agent. You’ve been a loyal servant to this club and believe me, we don’t want to stand in your way.”

He then asked me an extraordinary question. “Do you have something against Americans? I mean, there are only two of us here – I should say there were two of us here until Marcus was let go.”

This was starting to get a little personal. “Bobby, I’m going to overlook what you’re insinuating here,” I said. “My job is to put the best players on the pitch that I can and I don’t really care where they’re from. Let’s put it this way – I’m American too, and this club didn’t even try to get a transfer fee for me when I left. They just cut me loose. I’d like to get you another club for the sake of both your club career and for Bob Bradley with the national team. I owe you that much and you need to know I’m trying.”

He didn’t like the answer, but it was as straight as I could be with him. “I want out,” he said. “Don’t forget it.”

“I won’t,” I answered. “And trying to give your manager an ultimatum is only going to make things harder for you, so I suggest you trim your sails. Now we’ve both got things to do, so I suggest we get to them. Good luck against Cuba on Wednesday.”

# # #

[Goofus]

Thanks. I'll probably be busy for the next month or so, so expect your name to be in lights only around October 9-10th.

And at least your character is American. Imagine the trouble I'll have with flipstyle's character. All those french words. Argh.

[O\'Hara_fan]

Haha. If I was you, I wouldn't have said good luck against Cuba, probably put the phone down half way through.

Keep it up mate

[tenthreeleader]

O'Hara ... sometimes Rob can be annoyingly nice.

___

Now that the Spurs match is postponed, we are preparing full-bore for the trip to the northeast this weekend and our away opener at Newcastle.

Convey will be back in time for the match in all likelihood but his outburst on the phone has cost him his place. I’ve already decided that Hunt will play the left side of midfield – even if Kalou gets his permit. We’ll find out on the final appeal tomorrow.

Bobby’s focus is not on football at the moment – it’s on himself and on leaving. My thought was that it would help him against Chelsea to put him on a big stage, but his performance was only ordinary and I eventually substituted him. And now he’ll have jet lag from the trip which means I can’t risk putting his tired legs or his tired attitude in the starting eleven.

I’m making a couple of other changes to the 18-player roster for this trip too. Shane Long will travel with us and he may well play, as I wasn’t too pleased with Dagoberto’s performance against Chelsea. I’m not upset enough to take his place away from him, but he and Kitson didn’t do much. Granted the opponent was high-powered, but I still need my strikers to show a little life.

# # #

I’m not really sure why, but I seem to have made my first enemy in England.

Portsmouth manager Roland Nilsson doesn’t care much for me, and actually told fourfourtwo magazine so in its August issue that’s now on the stands.

Active managers have a bit of a curious relationship with that magazine. Saturday’s opponent, Sam Allardyce, was once a regular contributor to them and Arsene Wenger wrote a regular column for years regarding five-a-side football.

They want unvarnished opinion, and from Roland they got it. They haven’t yet asked for that opinion from me, though, so perhaps I’ll get my chance another time.

He was the subject of their in-depth interview this month because some wag at the mag thinks Pompey will surprise because they were devastated by injuries last year.

That’s all well and good. But last year they were 15th, have brought in one player so far this year, and are picked by most media to be involved in a relegation battle. They aren’t picked by anyone reputable to finish in the top half and while I don’t wish bad fortune on anyone, I guess I was a little surprised at Roland’s frankness in reply to questioning about his rivals.

“I earned my way into the Premier League,” he was quoted as saying. “I’m not sure what Reading is playing at, bringing in a nobody. Yet they can do what they want.”

That was generous of him. I have never met Roland, and won’t until our teams play. Perhaps he applied for my position and lost out. I don’t know. And frankly, I have other things to worry about.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Wednesday, August 13

Someone at the Home Office has seen reason, and Kalou’s request for a work permit was granted on appeal this morning.

He is now clear to join the club and is on his way back to England from Beijing after Ivory Coast’s elimination in the Olympic group stages. He may run into Federici on the way, which would be fine with me as I wouldn’t mind a qualified spare goalkeeper for the trip to the Northeast.

He’s going to give us a real explosive dimension on the left that we have been lacking and I can’t wait to see him in a midfield with Maloney and Faé. Convey is now officially expendable.

# # #

The news was received with mixed feelings at training, even though Convey isn’t here. He played for a very lackluster United States team in a 1-1 draw against Cuba this evening. In a politically charged match in Havana, the Americans did virtually nothing and only managed to scrape out a draw.

Bobby has been a part of this team for several years and has friends on the club. They know why Kalou is coming here, and even though we’re excited to see his potential, especially on a four-year contract, for some on my team it’s going to come at the cost of a friend. That’s never easy.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough is now without midfielder Fabio Rochemback, gone to Hamburg SV for £7.5 million. And my friend Nilsson is in the mix to tempt Brazilian midfielder Alex from his club team, Sao Paolo.

I had a hard time getting Kalou a work permit at age 23 with 15 international caps. Alex is 26 years old and has never been capped by anyone. If I had a hard time with Kalou, I’d think Roland would need to find some long-lost European grandparentage for Alex in a hurry to even get him into the country. Failing that, he’ll be on loan someplace where you don’t need a work permit until he’s a footballing senior citizen. Good luck with that.

# # #

We’re going to take a long coach trip to the Northeast tomorrow afternoon. So today’s training session was our final chance to prepare on our own grounds for Newcastle.

They played tonight and were dismissed 2-0 by Boro, which has won two on the spin to start its season. However, the Magpies haven’t yet played at home, which I’m sure they hope will equalize things for them. I watched that match on television tonight and I wasn’t sure if Boro was good, Newcastle was bad, or both.

Newcastle has had some difficulty in attack. Allardyce came under severe criticism last season for selling Obafemi Martins to Spurs and Michael Owen to Sevilla for a combined £27.25 million, and may be about to let 6’3” targetman Shola Ameobi leave for Birmingham as well. The criticism was especially sharp in the case of Owen, who had at last found his form after prolonged absence due to injury. He had scored 13 goals in 22 matches before being shipped off to Spain.

Big Sam’s strike force at the moment consists of Ameobi, the Brazilian Vagner Love, former Man United and Leeds man Alan Smith and Mexican Juan Pablo García. The club has scored two goals in two matches but only has individual credit for one, since the other was an own goal from West Brom defender Paul Robinson.

After the match, Boro boss Gareth Southgate was asked about Allardyce and his team. “I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I have to be honest,” he said. “I think they need to tighten things up a bit or they may have some trouble. This is the most competitive league in the world and they didn’t offer us much of a threat this evening.”

Of course, Southgate was speaking after winning a Tyne-Tees Derby, so he was probably feeling pretty good at the time of his speech. However, Gareth’s thumb in the eyes of his rivals will charge up Big Sam and his players – just in time to face us. Lovely.

We’ll also meet up with an old friend on Saturday – Steve Sidwell, whose one-season experiment at Chelsea was a failure. The midfielder, who played in Reading’s Championship-winning side and also filled a key role here two years ago, was a Bosman target for José Mourinho. Unfortunately, when Mourinho went, Avram Grant didn’t see the same value in the player and he rotted in the Chelsea reserves before going to Newcastle.

Now he appears to be revitalized, and I wouldn’t mind having him here, in a way. He was popular with the fans but in the peculiar world of English football, loyalties broken are often loyalties lost forever. So I don’t think he’ll wear our blue and white hoops again.

# # #

Patty returned from work today looking like a changed woman. And not for the better.

“You should hear how they talk about me already at work,” she sighed, flopping into a chair as I moved to greet her.

“Honey, I’m sorry,” I said.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” she said. “I did it, not you. But people who are trying to get a start in the business are wondering how I did it. I told them I had to get run into a bridge first. They thought that was funny but they really didn’t think about what I meant when I said it.”

So, my wife is in a quandary with some potentially jealous co-workers. That’s the last thing she needs as she is trying to fit in, and she’s going to need emotional support from her husband while she adjusts. I’m happy to do it, but my sense of foreboding over this photo shoot is getting deeper and deeper with each passing day.

# # #

With the evening off, I watched bits of Coppell’s first match in charge of United, their Champions League qualifier against Genk. To call it one-way traffic would be an understatement.

The Red Devils cruised to a 3-0 win behind a brace from Wayne Rooney and a single goal from Carlos Tévez. I flipped back and forth from the Newcastle match, saw all I needed to see in about ten minutes, and went back to watching Boro’s defense stifle the Magpies.

While doing so, a bit of a surprising score came in from Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea was playing the first leg of its own Champions League qualifier. Galatasaray got an away goal before falling 2-1, so a strong performance at the Ali Sami Yen may dump the Blues out of the world’s richest club tournament. They haven’t started well at all, and failure to qualify for the UCL group stages may well put more pressure on my new friend Avram Grant.

Charlton kept a clean sheet as well tonight as there were five league contests – but it was against fellow promotee Cardiff City, in a goalless draw that reportedly set new standards for dire play. We play Charlton at The Valley next Wednesday and I can only hope their malaise continues.

Hull, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest are all blushing tonight as well, after being dumped out of the Carling Cup by lower league opposition. League Two Macclesfield Town, League One Millwall and League One Bradford City are enjoying the scalps they took, respectively.

# # #

Yet at the end of the day, my priorities were clear. My tired wife emerged from the shower at 9:30, looking done in.

“Honey, please come to bed,” she said. “You can watch the match with me. I just need you near me.”

Concerned, I turned off the television in the living room and did as she asked. “Are you sure you’re all right?” I asked.

“I will be,” she promised. “But right now, no, I’m not.”

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Thursday, August 14

The players left for Newcastle today, but without me.

Nothing bad has happened – I’m going to go to The Valley on Saturday to scout Charlton, our next opponent, against Blackburn. Then I get to hop a commuter plane to join my team on Saturday afternoon.

This means Dillon will take training with the senior squad today and tomorrow. I talked with him about it and decided not to joke about him getting what he really wanted for the next couple of days. That was probably a wise decision.

Kevin’s a good coach. He isn’t going to make any changes to the tactical plan, and he knows the one player he is to watch closely is Hunt. If he sees anything that would indicate a better option exists, he’s going to let me know.

Before the club left, we also had our new arrival in the fold. Kalou arrived this morning for his introductory news conference before getting straight onto the coach for Newcastle. I was present for the media event, and he got to answer the question all media seemed to be asking – why leave Chelsea for Berkshire?

“I need to get my career back on track,” Kalou said. “I was forced out of regular playing time at Chelsea, I think I will be able to make a positive contribution here, and even though leaving is always uncomfortable I know I am going to a place where I’m wanted.”

I thought that was a remarkably diplomatic statement. Obviously, the young man knows his stuff.

I got the pleasure of giving Kalou his Reading shirt, holding one sleeve while Madejski held the other. I also got the pleasure of telling him he’s in the eighteen, which I think he liked even more than the shirt.

After the event, the media’s attention turned to me. “He’s a very good player,” I said. “He can play all three midfield positions and he’s a strike candidate as well. Our opponents are going to have to account for him, that’s for sure. I plan to bring him along a bit slowly at first, but he’s going to be a big part of our scheme soon. We didn’t bring him here to let him sit in the reserves.”

So off he went to meet his new teammates. Since we all want to win, and there’s no doubt he will make us a better club, the players were happy to make his acquaintance.

I also had the chance to give Ferreira the ultimate proof that I did not blame him for Chelsea’s equalizer last weekend. He’s going to be in the eleven, making his starting debut while Rosenior shifts to the bench. Liam will likely get to return to the eleven for the Charlton match and we’ll need lots of fresh legs to get through the early stretch of fixtures in any event.

So right after lunch, the coach pulled away from the training ground and on its way, leaving the manager behind to take care of a little business.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Friday, August 15

While the squad is comfortable in the northeast today, I stayed at home. I’ll go to London tomorrow and join the squad tomorrow night.

On my way out of town, though, I paid a surprise visit to Patty at work. I wanted her to know of my support for her situation, and if my presence could take a bit of the pressure off her at her desk, then so much the better.

My morning was spent comprising the training and video plan for Charlton, our opponents next Wednesday. The fixtures are coming fast and furious now and I arrived at the office at 8:00 to go over the scouting department’s notes on the Addicks.

Of course, I’m going to see them myself tomorrow, so I can make up my own mind, but the advance scouts saw their 5-1 thrashing away to Boro last weekend so it’s not surprising that the report I saw was less than flattering to Alan Pardew’s men.

That said, in fairness Boro still looked pretty good. Thomas Buffel, who was on the bench for most of his time at Rangers, enjoyed his new lease on life through a brace against Charlton and is grabbing his chance with both hands.

Yet as Boro frolicked over, around and through a suspect Charlton back line, my thought is that they can be had by pace. Lita, Kalou, Dagoberto and Faé have bags of it. So we will plan accordingly.

# # #

For me, though, the highlight of the day was dropping in on my wife at work. The firm of Stewart and Stevens seemed a welcoming place, especially when expressed through the form of the lissome young blonde at the main reception desk.

“I’m here to see Patty Ridgway,” I said, with a smile.

“I’ll see if she’s free,” the young lady said, pushing a button on her phone. “Though if you ask the press, her price seems to be getting higher each day!”

She smiled, but soon discovered that I wasn’t smiling in reply. “Who may I say is calling?” she asked, in an attempt to return to business.

“Her husband,” I replied.

Her face went pale. The receptionist was one of the very few people in Reading who didn’t recognize me and she paid for that lack of knowledge – and discretion – right at that moment.

She regained her composure. “Patty, your husband is here to see you,” she said. “Are you available?” I noticed she had even changed her choice of adjectives.

The receptionist hung up the phone. “Mr. Ridgway, your wife will be here shortly. I’m sorry that I -”

I cut her off. “She can’t help what happened to her,” I said. “I would greatly appreciate some discretion from her co-workers.” It was an awkward moment for the young lady but at that moment, I hardly cared.

Presently Patty appeared, and the look of delight on her face was really a joy to see. “Rob, how nice of you to stop!” she said, advancing for a tasteful kiss. “Come on, let me show you where they’re keeping me.”

We walked to her office – she has an office, and it’s as big as mine – which may also be a source of resentment for some of her cubicle-bound co-workers. She showed me to a chair and sat down across from me.

The nameplate on her door brought a smile to my face. I have to admit that I like seeing Patty Ridgway written wherever I can read it, which should come as no surprise.

“Wow,” I said. “It’s nice in here.”

“They gave me a nice spot,” she said. “I suppose that it’s just like any other place where you come in from the outside. You have to fit in.”

Just then, I thought of Kalou on the team coach headed for the northeast and figured Patty was probably right. Though, I imagined my players were treating him better than my wife’s co-workers seemed to be treating her.

She looked none the worse for wear, but I knew I needed to let Patty do her job. So after fifteen minutes, I rose to leave.

“This was really nice, Rob,” she said. “They’re pretty cold to me.”

“Do your best,” I said. “Just remember that if you want, we can look at other options for you.”

“I didn’t come here so I could leave right away,” she said, and now my thought was different. My thoughts traveled back to my old office at Euganeo.

“Well, that might be true for one of us,” I said, and we shared a smile.

# # #

There’s lots of news involving Manchester United today – some if it helpful for them, and some of it not.

Cristano Ronaldo spent a ton of time rehabilitating his image after the 2006 World Cup and United fans really took him to their collective hearts. Now, a Madrid newspaper is reporting that Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester.

The controversy is the last thing in the world Coppell needs, especially as he tries to fend off Real in their double swoop for Ronaldo and Carlos Tévez. The club has repeatedly said that Ronaldo is not for sale and I think since he’s on a four-year contract they would be mad to sell the winger who is arguably the world’s greatest player.

This sort of thing is becoming a sore subject for the old-school manager in me. Yes, I’ve got limited experience in such things, but I felt this way as a player as well, believe it or not. I have very little time for players who demand a long-term deal and then one year into it turn around and demand to leave.

Contracts work two ways, and long-term contracts are as much for the player’s protection as the club’s, especially if there is guaranteed money involved. Yet if the stories out of Madrid are true and Ronaldo wants to leave, it’s just another example of player power.

At the beginning of my career, when the first rumors began to circulate about a bid from Rangers to take me away from Falkirk, I had an interesting experience.

The talk went to my head and as a 23-year old who had never been in professional demand before, that was understandable. After the first stories circulated I went out and had a simply horrible Scottish Cup match against Motherwell. After the match, an irate fan told me that if he were offered a raise to go somewhere else he’d take it. The implication was that I should do the same, and he used much coarser language to say it.

That summer, Rangers bid for me anyway once my play had settled down, and I left for Ibrox. I was the same age then that Ronaldo is now, and I can understand his willingness to look at golden spires.

However, I never asked to leave Falkirk and I was careful never to even speculate as long as my future was in question. Ronaldo’s case is a lot different and obviously, there’s much more money involved.

People are fond of saying that there’s no loyalty anymore in sport. Things like this just prove it in my mind. If I was on £50,000 a week like Ronaldo is, I think I could be happy with that. I know, I know, some people say you need to make as much as you can while you can make it but when you sign on the dotted line all that changes. You owe something to the employer. Period.

However, United isn’t totally blameless in all this, as the other half of their news centered around their interest in Sebastian Frey and Atletico Madrid’s wonderkid Sergio Aguero. The players might cost United a combined £65 million but neither Fiorentina nor Atletico are interested in selling. Frey is reportedly interested in moving but hasn’t asked for a transfer and no one has heard from Aguero. However, the media certainly heard from his manager, Javier Irureta, who in no uncertain terms told United to get lost.

That’s cheeky, obviously, but no manager likes to lose his best players under such circumstances. I had a similar reaction to Billy Davies’ attempt to get Sonko off my roster earlier this month, though we obviously aren’t talking about the same kind of money. We run a tight financial ship here and if I ever get a wonderkid who knows what will happen to him.

As I drifted off to sleep I tried to keep my mind on more important things. That was easier said than done.

# # #

[O\'Hara_fan]

One of the few people who would be in the presence of a beautiful wife, and think of Saloman Kalou.

Truly, FM. Love it, keep it up!

[tenthreeleader]

O'Hara ... as Seinfeld would say, "not that there's anything wrong with that ...."

But for Rob, yeah, there's a fair amount wrong with that. I'll grant you that much!

___

Saturday, August 16

Wow. All I can say is wow.

Charlton was easily handled 2-0 at The Valley today by Blackburn in a match that wasn’t nearly as close as the score, and I’m thinking Pardew has a lot of work to do.

His team has one draw in three matches and has been outscored 7-1. Today they never looked like scoring and I am reasonably optimistic about our chances against them next Wednesday. Steven Reid and Robbie Savage scored first half goals for Rovers and the result was salted away before the teams had changed ends.

Upon my entry into the stadium and taking my seat in a guest area behind the benches, I looked to my right and saw Roland Nilsson sitting just down the row. I smiled with satisfaction and noticed that he hadn’t seen me. So I got up and approached him.

“Hello, Roland,” I said, as I reached his seat. I extended my hand. “Rob Ridgway.”

He looked at me like I had just kicked his dog. Not knowing if a camera was on him or not, he rose and shook my hand. “Welcome to the league,” the Swede said. “I’ll look forward to meeting you on the pitch.”

“As will I,” I said, with an expression that told him I knew what he had said without telling him in so many words. Our eyes met and I did not back down.

“Good luck,” I said evenly, returning to my seat. As I did, my mobile phone rang.

It was Patty. “Honey, what was that all about?” she asked. “I’m watching on television and you looked pretty upset. Who was that?”

“That was Roland Nilsson, the manager of Portsmouth,” I said. “He’s said some unflattering things about me in print. So I thought I’d introduce myself.”

“You looked like you were ready to introduce your boot,” she laughed. “Honestly, honey, you know I think you’re gorgeous but when you look like that at someone, you make me not want to go near you!”

“Intense, was I?” I said, the smile now starting to return to my face.

“I wouldn’t mess with you,” she said. “Which is a bit of a pity, since we’re married.”

“You wouldn’t get that look from me,” I answered in playful protest.

“You’ve seen my look before, and you stayed with me,” she said. “Enjoy the match, babe. I’ll talk with you tonight.”

# # #

I caught a puddle-jumper after the match and an hour later I was on my way to the team hotel in Newcastle. It’s a new season so hope springs eternal here.

The Magpies, despite resources most clubs in England can only dream about, haven’t won a trophy of any kind since defeating Budapest’s Újpest FC 6-2 on aggregate to win the Fairs Cup in 1969. Two years later, the Fairs Cup ceased to exist, being replaced by the UEFA Cup.

So it’s been a long time between trophies. Newcastle’s last league title came in 1927, its last FA Cup in 1955, and its last League Cup…well, it hasn’t happened yet. I don’t say these things to belittle a club of its size, but whoever breaks the trophy skid at St. James’ Park is going to be a hero for a long, long time to come.

The club was reportedly ready to part with Allardyce last season when they were mired in the relegation zone well into April. Sam then saved his job by going on a seven-match unbeaten run that saw them claim safety in the penultimate week of the season. They wound up finishing 16th, two points ahead of Derby and three ahead of relegated Sunderland.

So the supporters, loyal to the end, are ready for a winner. When we play them tomorrow, though, I’d like to give them more of the same.

# # #

I met with Dillon in the hotel restaurant this evening to go over tomorrow’s team sheet.

“I think Hunt will surprise you, actually,” he said. “He applied himself very well yesterday after we got here and this morning he was pretty good as well during the shadow play. I think he sees his chance to impress, he knows what’s going on with Convey and he wants to prove himself to you.”

“All well and good,” I said. “How did Kalou train?”

“Not badly, but he’s tired,” my deputy said. “But what a talent. The boy is lightning.”

“He can play,” I said. “Our midfield could be pretty good if everything goes according to plan. So you don’t see a need to change anything else?”

“I’d like to see Lita out there somehow,” he admitted.

“So would I,” I said. “Yet Dagoberto and Kitson are a cut above and I can’t lose sight of that. Long made the trip too, and I’d like to get him into a match. Maybe for Charlton.”

“The travel schedule is a bit rough for the next few weeks,” he said. “We’ll need fresh legs, especially when we get to this.” He handed me a sheet of paper.

I looked at our Second Round draw in the League Cup for the first time, showing us traveling to the south coast on August 27.

“Bournemouth,” I said. “League One. It’d be great to get that tie at home. And I’m sure this means the Spurs match will be moved again. We may never get to play them.”

“As the football gods decree, Rob,” Dillon smiled, as I returned the paper to him. “Lots of travel time ahead. The lads will get to play.”

# # #

Kevin and I watched the EPL results show so I could get caught up on the day. United pushed Everton all over Old Trafford this afternoon but wound up with a goalless draw that presumably pleased no one on either side. David Moyes is quietly confident about his club’s chances this season and Coppell is of course under pressure to get immediate results.

Bolton put on the show of the day, crushing Cardiff City 5-1 behind braces from El-Hadji Diouf and the on-loan Theo Walcott. Birmingham picked a 1-0 win over Sven-Göran Eriksson’s City squad thanks to Garry O’Connor’s goal late in the first half. Maybe I’m glad we aren’t playing Spurs just yet, as they went back to the top by thrashing West Brom 4-1, with Nicolas Anelka scoring on either side of the interval for them.

The hardcore Magpie supporters in the hotel all seemed to cheer at the same time as highlights of Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough were shown, dropping Gareth Southgate’s team out of the top spot. They left most of it late, though – after Ricky Carvalho had opened the scoring, it took second-half injury time goals from Daniel Alves and Didier Drogba to seal the points.

And champions Liverpool got started today as well, sweeping West Ham aside 3-0 at Anfield. They got goals from three different strikers as Peter Crouch, Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt all found the range. They had 23 attempts at goal to the Hammers’ two and eight shots on target to none for the visitors. I call that comprehensive.

Then they showed the table, which had us 13th. That wasn’t much fun to look at but when you consider some clubs have played three times already it’s a little easier to take. I had to smile when they showed the bottom places, though.

Arsenal are 19th. Of course, they still haven’t played yet and don’t open until tomorrow away to my friend Roland Nilsson’s Portsmouth, so I have to believe that will change. Still, seeing them one spot from bottom takes a little getting used to.

“Early days,” I mused, and Dillon nodded.

“Early days, but important ones,” he said.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Sunday, August 17

Newcastle United (0-1-1, 16th place) v. Reading (0-1-0, 13th place), EPL Match Day #2

“I Want Out!”

The headline in the Sunday Sun was short, sweet, to the point, and probably gave Sam Allardyce a headache.

On the morning of our match, the story broke that Newcastle midfielder Belözoglu Emre was denied permission by Allardyce to discuss a deal with Serie A’s Genoa. And Emre isn’t happy about it.

While I sympathize with the player’s right to free speech, he was also an influential member of today’s opposition and Allardyce had a decision to make on whether he’d play. Going public – on the morning of a match – regarding displeasure with the boss is usually not an attractive career move for a player.

It was just something else to file away as we gathered for our team breakfast before heading to St. James’ Park. The players were quiet and reasonably confident. They played well against Chelsea but until the first win comes there’s always an element of uncertainty.

My morning e-mail contained the second makeup date for the Spurs match, which is now September 3. Our string of matches will continue, as we’ll now play at midweek for the next three weeks running.

Talking about that is for after the match, though, and we boarded our coach in good order to get to the ground. As we pulled into the visitors’ area, I stepped to the front of the bus.

“All right, fellows, let me have your attention,” I said. “You’re playing a team that has started slowly. They’ve got talent in positions on the pitch that can really hurt you so be mindful of their midfield and the types of entry balls they prefer, especially to Vagner Love. Let’s try to get on top of them, press them in their defensive third, and make a statement. Okay, let’s go.”

With that, we got off the coach and proceeded into the huge stadium. St. James’ hosted a few England internationals while the new Wembley was under construction and with a seating capacity of over 50,000, it’s a pretty facility.

Yet today it was unfriendly to us and as the players unpacked their personal kit and shirts were hung in lockers by the equipment managers, it was time to put the niceties aside.

I made only one change to the eleven from the Chelsea match - Ferreira for Rosenior - so when we lined up to take the pitch, the same players stood in virtually the same order as last weekend. I took my place at the end of the line and met Sam Allardyce for the first time.

He’s had quite a career and he has two things in common with me that don’t involve management: first, we were both defenders and second, we both played in the top league in the United States. Only for him, it was a different league. He spent the 1983 season with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the old North American Soccer League, the forerunner to today’s MLS.

From there, though, our paths diverged. Allardyce managed at Limerick, Blackpool, Notts County and most famously Bolton before coming to Newcastle at the start of last season. His life got interesting after being implicated in 2006’s BBC Panorama bung episode and still won’t speak to the network because of the story they ran. And I thought I had problems with media.

Now, though, as we stood in the tunnel it was all business and I knew full well that his club would be both prepared to play and physical in so doing. He extended his hand as we stood together at the rear of the players’ line.

“Welcome, Rob,” he said simply. “Good luck today.”

“Thank you, Sam,” I responded, shaking his offered hand. “Best of luck to you as well.” The line began to move and the teams slowly made their way onto the pitch.

It was a gray, warm day and kickoff at least let me get my mind off the humidity, which seemed to be hanging thick in the air. I thought both teams would be sluggish out of the gate and that was understandable given the conditions.

However, it was Kitson who proved me wrong, moving into the left channel to take Maloney’s flick-on just two minutes into the match to advance on Shay Given’s goal. Kitson’s rising drive fizzed just wide of Given’s right post and my big striker covered his face with his hands in embarrassment at missing a gilt-edged chance.

We moved well in the early going – better than I frankly had any reasonable right to expect – and Maloney proved early on that he likes the role he has in my tactic. Playing for possession without the use of my usual road counter-attack, Maloney held the ball like a midfield general while getting both his wings involved.

That was the interesting part of it, as Hunt showed he really wants to play. Thirteen minutes into the match, he took the ball right past Emre and cut sharply to the middle of the pitch near Newcastle’s penalty area. He then slid a simply wonderful ball ahead toward Maloney’s run, and the raider took the ball straight toward Given.

The keeper came out to cut the angle and Shaun chipped him, lobbing just over Given’s flailing arms and into the net for his second goal in two games, giving us the lead away from home.

He was then buried by a group of happy Royals who seem well pleased that he’s with us. He got up from the bottom of the pile and pulled his shirt forward to the traveling support, holding the logo up for all to see. I think he’s pleased to be here as well.

I relaxed our attacking bent for a few minutes to absorb Newcastle’s expected counterthrust but the most worrisome thing that could have happened, happened anyway. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a goal. It was a lot worse than that.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Twenty-two minutes into the match, Magallón was working against Emre as Newcastle moved the ball toward our penalty area. The ball came to his feet and Jonny proceeded to move to his left as Emre’s teammate Jean Il Makoun moved in to challenge.

Jonny never saw him. Makoun’s challenge was strong and I saw my midfielder drop like he’d been shot. Startled, I watched Makoun do two things: first, he immediately got up and cleared the ball across the pitch into touch, and second, began waving frantically for our physios.

Magallón didn’t move but he was clutching his lower leg. He didn’t even roll in pain which told me his injury was very bad. Nearly sick with worry, I moved to a sideline monitor and saw what I needed to see on the first replay. I didn’t need another view.

After going through the ball, Makoun’s challenge had broken Jonny’s right tibia above the ankle and it was absolutely horrible.

The stretcher-bearers and an EMT sprinted onto the pitch and set to work while Makoun sat next to Magallón with his head in his hands. Jonny was obviously in a very bad way and those players who could still look at the sight were trying to comfort my midfielder.

I looked at the fourth official and he nodded to me. So I went onto the pitch to my midfielder. The huge crowd was completely silent as I approached my fallen player who was now ashen with pain.

I looked at the injury, which took some doing, and moved to Jonny’s head. I spoke to him in Spanish, but soon realized that no words would suffice. “Be strong, Jonny, we’re here for you,” I finally said. “These are good people and they’ll help you.” It took nearly ten minutes for the EMTs to get Magallón to a stable position where he could be moved.

I then turned to Makoun, who looked stricken. He couldn’t look me in the eye, and his teammates led him away from the scene. I showed no malice – it wouldn’t have helped – and as Magallón was carefully lifted onto a stretcher and covered up, walked alongside it to the touchline.

The crowd rose and applauded as Jonny’s stretcher was carried away and the thought that his career might be over was certainly on everyone’s minds. He was stabilized and was undoubtedly headed to emergency surgery, but as the stretcher disappeared from sight under the stadium, somehow we had to try to put our minds back on football.

# # #

[copperhorse21]

You wrote: "Nearly sick with worry, I moved to a sideline monitor and saw what I needed to see on the first replay."

I thought the 2008-09 season banned sideline monitors as part of the Respect the Referee Campaign?

Nice background on Allardyce. I learn something new every day.

[tenthreeleader]

Copper: All FM managers respect officials, right?

___

I don’t remember much of the rest of the first half and it was a very somber group of Reading players who gathered for the halftime team talk.

Despite all that had happened, I’m paid to lead these men and it was time for me to do it. In my second match in charge, I was facing a pivotal moment in relations with my squad and had to get it right.

Dillon watched, seeming to hover over my right shoulder, as I spoke.

“There are things in life that are more important than football,” I said. “But for now we need to let professionals handle those things and keep our focus where it has to be. A loss of focus now can not only hurt us on the scoreboard, but it can get you as players hurt as well. Don’t let that happen. Play hard for this club and for yourselves, but play hard for Jonny too. I’m sure that’s how he’d want it.”

At that, some chins came up off the floor and we talked a bit about tactics while I figured out a second-half alignment. Harper was now in the match in Magallón’s position and I had few worries about how he’d handle it.

I was more worried about the Magpies, who needed a win and who were now facing a badly shaken visiting team. So before we headed back out for the second half, I had one more thing to say.

“Let’s start out in a flat 4-4-2 and look to counter them,” I said. “We’ll make sure we’re stable for the first few minutes of the half.” I nearly said ‘we’ll make sure we have our legs under us’ but caught myself in the nick of time.

With that, we went out for the second half and Allardyce did his best to console me.

“Pity about Magallón,” he said. “Good player. My lad’s pretty upset.”

“I don’t blame him,” I replied. “It’s bad. I don’t suppose he did it on purpose.”

“Rest assured he didn’t,” Allardyce replied. So we headed out for the second half.

# # #

Our response was everything I could have hoped for. We came out strong, especially on the ball, and the game soon became rather passionate as my players rallied around Jonny. Slowly but surely, we started to gain command of possession and that certainly helped. Right on the hour mark, Hunt hit the roof of Given’s goal with a chip from just inside the area that missed being a second goal by the diameter of the football.

He showed his dismay, but Given’s long goal kick soon became another opportunity. Bikey headed the ball forward and it wound up with Harper, who kept his eyes high and saw Kitson moving laterally beyond the midfield stripe. He flicked on Bikey’s header to my striker, who picked up the ball in full flight.

Defender Christopher Samba moved in to challenge and, perhaps reluctant to challenge due to the events of the first half, elected to play Kitson straight up. And Dave left him for dead.

Kitson cut sharply and zipped around the defender like he wasn’t there. Given, now stranded, came out to cut the angle but my targetman’s clinical strike from twenty yards gave him no chance. It was 2-nil to us on 61 minutes and we had the breathing room we needed.

The reaction from the “50,000 managers” in the stands was understandably dismayed, but their catcalls were music to my ears. My players celebrated Kitson’s first goal of the season and we prepared to hunker down for the last half hour.

Ten minutes from the end, many in the crowd got up to leave and cries from our support of “We can’t hear you leaving!” rang out through the great stadium.

Then, everything changed. We slipped up at the back and Kostas Katsouranis found some space. His sharply angled drive squeezed between Lobont’s arm and his far post eight minutes from time and Newcastle was back in with a shout.

Now playing 4-2-4, the Magpies piled forward and I dropped us back to a deep line in response. This time, Ferreira was playing with even more fire in his belly, determined not to see us squander a second late lead. He was immense on our back line, showing me why it had been a good idea to sign him after all. He controlled the last few minutes and left no doubt as to his international pedigree.

Yet, three minutes from time, they broke in. This time Emre’s direct ball came right to the center of our defense and unfortunately, Sonko let it bounce. That was a bad idea, as the ball ballooned over his head and onto the onrushing ex-Royal Steve Sidwell, who chased frantically after it.

Ferreira, seeing the play develop in front of him, shifted to cover and it was just like last week. Again, attacker, defender and goalkeeper were involved in a mad race for the ball with a one-goal lead on the line.

# # #

[copperhorse21]

Two goals allowed late in the match.....arrrggghhhh! First with Chelsea, now Newcastle. So close! The blasted AI...

Good match report. Thoroughly interesting.

And yes, all FM managers respect the officials. That's my cliche' and I'm sticking to it....

[O\'Hara_fan]

4-2-4, seems as if it does not escape Rob Ridgway.

Oh, stop leaving us with a cliffhanger, I hate

[salkster2102]

Two goals allowed late in the match.....arrrggghhhh! First with Chelsea, now Newcastle. So close! The blasted AI...

Good match report. Thoroughly interesting.

And yes, all FM managers respect the officials. That's my cliche' and I'm sticking to it....

Who knows it might have been saved this time. We all know how lucky chelsea can get. The suspense is killing stop with the cliffhangers its like a soap:D

[tenthreeleader]

Okay, okay, enough with the cliffhangers ...

___

Ferreira got a better jump this time. He arrived with Sidwell and shepherded the ball safely into the arms of Lobont right on the penalty spot. It wasn’t technically obstruction, but rather three players going for the ball and my defender making sure my keeper reached it first.

It was a heady, veteran play. Lobont booted the ball back upfield and that was that. Our first win of the season - and my first win in the Premiership - was soon in the books and the whistle ended an emotional match for all of us.

I approached Allardyce and we shook hands. “Good result,” he said, a bit stiffly. He’s now gone his first three without a win and he’s right back in the same morass he found himself in last season. He was upset and I honestly couldn’t blame him for that.

We headed off to the changing rooms and I gave a brief talk. “Anyone who wants to go to the hospital can do it after we’re done with media,” I said. “The coach will leave in an hour and pick up anyone who isn’t ready on the way out of town after we’re done.”

I honestly didn’t expect anyone to miss that first bus, and the players were already into their post-match routines. “This was a great effort today under trying circumstances,” I said. “You’ve done well and I’m sure Jonny will be proud. Now let’s get our work done and get out of here.”

As I turned to leave for the media room there was a knock on our changing room door. I opened it to find Makoun on the other side, still in full uniform.

“I would like to speak to your team, to apologize,” he said.

I nodded and stepped aside. The Cameroonian entered our rooms and proceeded to offer his condolences.

“I wish to apologize to you all,” he said, quietly and without a trace of fatuity. “I saw the ball and tackled the ball, but Jonny’s leg was planted on the other side of it. I know it is a very bad injury and I want you to know I did not intend for this to happen.”

I spoke for my team. “Jean, thank you for coming in,” I said. “I have seen the replay and as far as I am concerned I am assured what you did was not deliberate. It shows great bravery and class to come in here and say what you said and I appreciate it.”

He nodded, thanked us for our time, and left. I then went to media. That first Premiership victory had come at an awful price.

# # #

After a summary of the match, the media finally asked me about Magallón.

“The worst of it is, the player did get the ball,” I said. But Jonny wasn’t looking for him and I think in that circumstance the player could have done a better job of being under control. But I don’t think he meant to break Jonny’s leg. So was it deliberate? I don’t think so. Is it damaging to us? Absolutely. Yet, the player came to our changing room to apologize and I’ve accepted his apology.”

“Can you survive the loss?”

“I think so,” I said. “We have alternatives but Jonny was my first choice at the position. We don’t know his status, we don’t know if he’s into or out of surgery and I have a bunch of players who want to go see their teammate at the hospital. So if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to tend to.”

Newcastle 1 (Katsouranis, 1st, 82)

Reading 2 (Maloney, 2nd, 13; Kitson, 1st, 61)

A – 50,400, St. James’ Park, Newcastle

Man of the Match – Shaun Maloney, Reading (2)

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Monday, August 18

Before training this morning, I called the scouts into my office for an emergency meeting.

The word from Newcastle is that Magallón will miss a minimum of six months with his injury and that’s obviously devastating news. The squad went to see him in the hospital last night which made our return to Berkshire quite late. We didn’t get in until nearly midnight, but it was well worth it to all of us.

Quick work by the paramedics saved a potentially dire situation for Jonny and the doctors are cautiously optimistic that he might even be able to play football again by the end of the season if everything goes well. Right now, I just want Jonny to be able to walk again and after emergency surgery it appears he will be able to do that.

Meanwhile, I’ve got about half my transfer budget still to spend but my first reaction is not to buy a player to replace Magallón.

Even Premiership clubs loan players – Bolton has just loaned Theo Walcott from Arsenal, in fact, to name just one – and if there’s a chance Magallón will play again I would prefer not to spend the £4-6 million it would cost to bring in a quality replacement.

“I want your best names for holding midfielders we can loan by lunchtime,” I told my scouts. “Failing that, we’ll look at reasonable purchase options. I’ll need to speak with the financial people to see what the board will let us do, which is why loaning is the preferred option. Now let’s get to work.”

I then went out and ran a light training session, with emphasis on Charlton’s preferred style of play. With a trip to London looming on Wednesday evening we don’t have much time to get ready. Yet the subplots in this match make it every bit as important as the Newcastle match in the eyes of our supporters – and it’s also a bit important to me.

# # #

By all accounts – including mine – Alan Pardew did a very nice job here. It was the way he left that got people upset.

In 1997, Pardew followed his mentor, Terry Bullivant, to Reading as reserve team manager. He played for Crystal Palace and Charlton during his playing career but when Bullivant left in 1998 Pardew stayed behind as caretaker manager.

Former Celtic boss Tommy Burns was next in line and Pardew stayed, again becoming caretaker when Burns left in 1999. His success here was great, leading the club into the old Division One and narrowly missing promotion in 2003 after a playoff loss to Wolves.

Then West Ham came calling. They asked Madejski for permission to approach Pardew for their vacant position and were turned down. Non-plussed, Pardew then resigned to take the West Ham job.

Madejski was irate, and tried to create a High Court injunction to stop Pardew’s moving to West London. The suit was eventually dropped, and the Hammers promptly went on their worst run of form for seventy years, barely escaping relegation to the Championship.

Biscuit baron Eggert Magnusson then fired Pardew in favor of former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley, and in a twist of fate the two men traded clubs as Pardew wound up at Charlton. He is a figure of some infamy to many supporters here and I’ll have every backing I need from them in order to get a result on Wednesday.

I’m trying not to think of the other reason I wouldn’t mind winning on Wednesday. Six years ago, he released me from Reading – a move that at first caused a great deal of personal pain but now has resulted in a much better overall situation than I could have imagined at the time.

Still, the desire exists to prove myself in his eyes. I couldn’t do it as a player but now have an opportunity to do it as a manager, at the highest level. If I had more than 48 hours to prepare I’d feel better, but I don’t so I will have to make the best of it. Somehow I don’t expect that Alan has the same anxieties about preparing to meet me.

# # #

After the training session I again met with the scouts and they really weren’t much help. To my consternation, I had to repeat my desire for a loan midfielder because I didn’t like most of the names on the list.

However, my knowledge of Italy and Serie A now stood me in good stead. I wrote a name on the wipeboard and some lights went off in the eyes of my scouts.

Ricardo Faty, a 23-year old Frenchman, is currently – you guessed it – with the French Olympic Team, which is in the tournament semifinals. His club, AS Roma, has him listed for loan and he’s a great prospect.

He does all the things that a holding midfielder needs to do in my tactic. He is a good physical talent, passes the ball very well, is a good man-marker and positionally he is quite astute. I need all those things – and he’s young as well.

“Look into him,” I instructed. “Let’s see if he’ll come. And if we can put in a buy provision let’s do that as well. He’s one for the future and if Roma will let him leave I’d certainly like to look at taking him.”

The other options weren’t so attractive. The best one for me was Celtic’s Gary Caldwell, who has fallen out of favor with Gordon Strachan but could fill a part-time role for me. He is not transfer-listed but he’s affordable from everything I’ve heard.

We aren’t desperate. Harper can play the position quite well and will get every opportunity to do so. So can Faé, who provides another viable option. Yet if he does, that puts me down a midfielder.

I want Kalou to play the left while trying to move Convey, so my options are a bit limited. Kalou, like Maloney, can play all three midfield positions so a short term solution may be to put Faé in the holding role, have Kalou move to the right, give Hunt another chance on the left and leave Maloney in the middle.

I’m leaning that way for Charlton, but I have another day or so to make up my mind. I worked Faé and Harper in the holding position in our tactical drills today and we’ll see how it goes.

Yet there’s another option the scouts presented, and it’s one I would never have considered. “There’s a name player who might be available on loan,” scout Steve Shorey told me. “It would involve moving Maloney to a wing if we could get him, but it would be worth your while to consider it.”

He slipped me a piece of paper and I read the name Shorey had written.

“If you’re serious, and if you think the player is serious, then let's go for it,” I said immediately. “He might make us a whole different team.”

# # #

[SCIAG]

It's Steve Sidwell!

[tenthreeleader]

Could be, SCIAG ... but ya never know!

____

Tuesday, August 19

The phone beside my head rang at 2:15 this morning. At that hour, it sounded like a drill pounding away next to my skull, and I woke with an angry start.

At first I was worried there was bad news about Magallón, who is still in the hospital in Newcastle after surgery to place a rod in his broken leg. But when I picked up the phone, the person on the other end spoke with no discernible accent except for that of Illinois, so I knew who it was.

“What on earth is Patty doing?” my father-in-law demanded. “And why are you letting her do it?”

I frowned. “Martin, do you have any idea what time it is over here? Patty did a shoot to get the tabloids off her back and they ran some more pictures. It seems she’s quite beautiful.”

My wife woke up at mid-sentence, and rolled over in bed. “Honey, who is it?” she asked, sleep still fogging her brain.

I told her while speaking on the phone. “Martin, it was a decision she made,” I added, and Patty leaned back into the pillows in frustration as she too snapped fully awake. “Yes, we have representation and yes, it was done with a purpose. I’ve…”

At that, he cut me off. “You need to look after her,” he lectured. “Her face is all over Britain now! Did you even think about what that might do?”

At this point, my mood shifted from one of surprise and accommodation to one of simply trying to keep my patience. “Why are you asking me this now, when the pictures have been out for almost two weeks?” I asked.

“Because News of the World doesn’t go to Arlington Heights, Illinois every day?”

His anger was starting to grow and so was mine in reply. This wasn’t what I wanted or needed, especially not at quarter after two in the blessed a.m. The last thing in the world I need is estrangement from my new extended family.

Finally Patty leaned over and took the phone out of my hand. “Dad, why are you doing this?” she asked. “If you want to talk about this you should be talking with me, not Rob. We can talk about this when the sun is up over here, all right?”

She lay silent next to me while her father replied. She would not be moved.

“Rob is my husband,” she finally said. “He is devoted to me and everything he’s done since we have been married indicates that he cares for my safety. Now that has to be the end of it, Dad. I don’t want to hang up on you, but if you carry on like this you’ll leave me no choice.”

Those were strong words but her facial expression showed she meant everything she said. Finally, sadly, she hung up the phone.

“That isn’t good,” I said, as my wife rolled close to me.

“No, it’s not,” she said. “He still guards me pretty closely, as you can imagine.”

“I understand that, and when we have kids I will want to protect them too,” I said, holding her to me. “But there comes a time when a husband gets to do his job without interference, and it doesn’t appear as though your dad understands that.”

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

The conversation was still weighing on my mind as I reported to the training ground this morning. I put it out of my mind long enough to work on the final team sheet with Dillon over lunch.

My deputy made a suggestion. “How about another look at Hunt?” he asked. “I thought he was excellent against Newcastle and you could always go with Kalou on the right.” For my part, I considered his choice of personal pronouns interesting, but then he’s right – it is my decision.

I nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” I said. “Faé drops to the holding role. Harper should start there when we play Bolton since he is physically stronger anyway. Convey will need another match, especially since we’re showcasing him, so maybe that’s how we look at setting up for the weekend.”

“Lots of fixtures coming up,” Dillon noted. “Not the worst thing in the world for some of these players.”

There are some changes I want to make. Pogatetz has played well but is still not quite at peak match fitness so he will give way to Rosenior tomorrow. Ingimarsson also needs time so he will start in place of Bikey alongside Sonko. And finally, Lita really needs to play and Dagoberto looked a step slow this morning, so I may well make that change as well.

The rule of thumb is that you’re not supposed to change a winning eleven. But the changes I am contemplating are ones that need to happen in terms of the strengths of my players as well as for an eleven that can get a result. I suppose that’s why I’m getting the big money, to make those kinds of decisions. Oh, and getting them right doesn’t hurt either.

# # #

Our offer to Roma for Faty is in, along with what I am sure will be offers from numerous other clubs. The first offer for a player in whom no one is supposedly interested seems to bring an avalanche of others.

I like the thought of Faty in the holder’s role enough to sweeten the pot with a modest fee for the loan. In exchange for that, though, I’ve asked Roma for an option to purchase the player, who is going to be outstanding if he continues to develop. The other offers, all from Italian and French clubs, are for loan only, so we’ll see how that goes.

The other loan of note would be quite a story – in fact, it would be the second biggest loan story of the day, right behind Everton’s news today. The Toffees have loaned Raúl from Real Madrid for the season, and if he is anything like the player he used to be, Everton just got a lot better in a big hurry.

The reason our loan news would be big as well is that the player reportedly looking at us is Gúti. He’s 31 years old now and as a single-season acquisition he could really make a difference for us. He’s an outstanding distributor of the ball, a fine finisher and positionally he’s as good as they get even though he’s now a backup to the first team at the Bernabéu.

A three-wide midfield of Gúti, Kalou and Maloney would offer pace, power, passing ability, veteran presence and finishing potential that would make us a threat against virtually everyone we play.

Meanwhile, Roland Nilsson keeps trying. Today he was linked with Rangers’ commanding central defender Carlos Cuellar and it took Walter Smith about fifteen minutes to tell the press that the Spaniard isn’t going anywhere.

I’ll give Roland credit, though – he’s certainly trying. However, he isn’t succeeding, and that must be worrisome. I had the same problem earlier in the window before bringing in Pogatetz, Maloney and now Kalou. The “Rat Pack” is starting to grow a little bit and will hopefully get bigger before the window closes.

I’ve still had more failures than successes, though, and the true test will be how we do with Faty and possibly Guti over the next ten days. That will tell me a lot. The “Rat Pack” is coming together nicely and the acid test is about to take place: has anyone noticed?

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

Wednesday, August 20

Charlton (0-1-2, 19th place) v. Reading (1-1-0, 6th place) – EPL Matchday #3

I have always liked The Valley as a place to play and watch a match. It’s quite an attractive facility and the fact that Charlton has gone through quite a bit to renovate their longtime home for the Premiership makes it even better.

The place had fallen into disrepair after Charlton’s relegation to the old Third Division and eventual administration in 1984, resulting in ground-shares with both Crystal Palace and West Ham before the club returned to the old ground in 1992.

Such is the devotion of Charlton supporters to their home that the club actually sold players to be able to afford to return to the place where it had played since 1919. It’s a great place to watch a match, and all three of the main stands have been completely rebuilt over the last fifteen years or so. Even though I wasn’t exactly concentrating on the merits of the stadium, the atmosphere in the place was obvious from the moment we stepped off the coach.

# # #

As the M4 passed underneath us on the way to the ground, I had one last talk with Dillon. His words of yesterday have taken hold and I decided to play the squad the way we had planned yesterday.

The mood of the squad is pretty good. The news from Newcastle on Magallón is getting better by the day and he’ll be ready to travel tomorrow.

The break in his leg was obviously severe but at least it was clean. The doctors are optimistic that he’ll be able to walk within six months if everything goes right – tempering their earlier optimism about a return to football by the end of the season. Suffice to say he’s lost to us for a long time – perhaps even the entire season – but it does not appear he will be permanently disabled.

Perhaps the people who are happiest about this besides Magallón himself are Allardyce and Makoun. This morning the club received a formal letter from Newcastle expressing sympathy for the injury, and on Monday the player himself went to visit Jonny in the hospital.

As a result, we’ve been able to diffuse some of the tension that invariably arises when unusually severe injuries take place. Wars of words that last for years can result if these incidents are not properly handled.

A classic example of this was Stephen Hunt’s collision with Chelsea keeper Petr Cech two years ago at the Madejski. The Chelsea keeper suffered a fractured skull when Hunt caught him in the head with his knee while Cech dove for the ball just twenty seconds into Hunt’s first Premiership start. To this day Cech wears a rugby helmet whenever he plays and probably always will.

It was a bad accident, no doubt about that. Yet José Mourinho was his usual helpful self regarding such matters due to his post-match comments and even Arsene Wenger got involved with a statement that a goalkeeper would eventually be killed during a match. The resulting controversy took quite some time to die down.

Hunt didn’t see the pitch against Chelsea in our opening match but I can honestly say the accident had nothing to do with it. My hope now is that when Newcastle comes to our place the media will concentrate on football rather than on needless controversy.

I’ll stand up for my players when they are victimized by dirty play. What happened to Magallón was very unfortunate but it wasn’t malicious. We have to deal with it.

# # #

There was no Charlton welcoming party today and I didn’t expect one. It’s not a derby match for us, but as close as Reading is to London, many of the matches we play against the London clubs will carry a bit of emotion.

I led the traveling party down the corridor to the visiting rooms and made the last turn into our changing facility. The players made their preparations and we prepared for our second away day in 72 hours.

The players who were making their first appearances had that little extra jump that you’d expect from them. Ingimarsson belied his 31 years of age by looking like a kid in a candy store while he was dressing for the match, but once the shirt was on he was every inch the professional.

Kalou was getting his first full run-out in a Reading shirt as well, and he was quite quiet about it. I walked over to Maloney, who has had two straight outstanding matches for us, and grabbed his attention.

“We’ll need you today, Shaun,” I told him. “Just do what you’ve been doing and we’ll be fine. Your timing has been perfect these last two matches.”

“The tactic suits me,” he said simply. “I like scoring goals and here I’ve got the chance to do it. We’ll win today.”

It appeared that his expression of confidence suited both of us. The early reaction to my spending £2.4 million on him from Villa bordered on surprise but now the doubters are starting to quiet down. He turned back to his locker stall, knowing he was having the immediate impact every new arrival craves.

# # #

[tenthreeleader]

The teams lined up in the tunnel and I stepped to the end of the line. I then saw Pardew for the first time since he had released me.

To his credit, he was gracious. “Welcome back, Rob,” he said, extending his hand. “Good luck. I don’t have a lot of love for your employer, but that’s no reflection, of course.”

“Thank you, Alan,” I said, shaking his offered hand. “Good luck to you too.”

I don’t think either of us meant those good wishes. Pardew has a habit of being a little bit too plain when talking with the media, so I put down his wishes as simple public relations. I also knew that that we both need the points so wishing good luck each to the other was something neither of us probably wanted to do.

We kicked off and shortly after we did, the wind started to really kick up. For my part that wasn’t such a big deal, as we were prepared to play a short passing game against them with the idea of keeping the ball on the floor.

This is a luxury I rarely enjoyed last season and as I watched the opening few minutes flow past I was thrilled and pleased by the skill levels I was seeing. We were pretty good by just about anybody’s way of reckoning and forced keeper Nicky Weaver into a decent save seven minutes into the match from Kitson.

We continued to push them and four minutes later got an even better chance. Trying to clear his lines, Amdy Faye’s long ball was trapped down by Rosenior, who chipped to the top of the area looking for Kitson.

Defender Cory Gibbs was there first, but his angled header to the right found the patiently waiting Lita, played onside by the defender. He picked up the ball right on the 18-yard stripe and easily beat Weaver for his first goal of the season eleven minutes into the match.

Thus buoyed, we proceeded to dominate proceedings for the next twenty minutes, with Lita forcing Weaver into a fine save just five minutes after his goal, as the keeper dove at full stretch to tip his effort around the left post.

However, the Addicks were starting to get into the match, thanks in part to the loud protestations of Pardew, who was nervously pacing the touchline on the other side of the center stripe. His urging became more and more strident as he found his voice, and before long his players started to lock in on what he was saying.

We were doing a fine job clogging their passing lanes and not allowing them to find any sort of attacking rhythm. That is, for the first half hour of the match, when Charlton woke up almost as quickly as if someone had turned on a light switch.

Suddenly the back line was under pressure, Faye was playing like he did five years ago, and we were getting a taste of life on the road once again. We looked tentative for the first time, especially against their striker Mauro Zárate, and I didn’t like the signs.

I tried to drop the back four’s line deeper, but that involved getting their attention, something I found surprisingly difficult to do given the newfound level of noise and excitement in the place. Finally, I screamed for Sonko and he turned to me. I moved my hands in a “back up” sort of fashion as the Addicks took a throw on the far touchline.

Just like that, the ball was on the feet of Faye about forty yards from goal. He flicked it toward our penalty area and nobody made a play on it. Ingimarsson was ball-watching and Zárate took best advantage, sliding to inside position sixteen yards from goal. Lobont had absolutely no chance.

Zárate tied the score and did a happy dance right behind Lobont’s goal, which didn’t make anyone in our colors too happy, but it was their stadium and the enforcement options we had were few. Worse yet, dancing aside, we had conceded and that was the most important thing.

Charlton surged forward, having answered an opponent’s goal for the first time all season, and the confidence in their play was really something to see as long as you weren’t trying to stop them.

Unfortunately, I was in exactly that position so my primary objective was to get to halftime with the score still 1-1. We were able to do that, so objective number one was achieved.

I wasn’t terribly happy with Ingimarsson for his culpability in Zárate’s equalizer, which meant the perils of even a limited rotational policy had bitten me in the hind end. However, I had seen the good side of that policy as well, with Lita’s well-taken goal giving us the early advantage.

Yet, the tactic was in need of a bit of adjustment. Faé hadn’t played in the holding role yet this season and Harper was both willing and able to come in to play it. Hunt was also nowhere near the level of performance he reached during the Newcastle match, so I made a change to make us more stable. Harper came on for Hunt with Kalou moving from the right side to his more accustomed side of left midfield, while Faé moved from the holding role to his more accustomed right side of midfield.

I also opened a new can of worms with my players through my teamtalk. I took a calculated risk.

“You know, there’s a fellow in the opposing rooms right now who would like nothing better than to beat you and to beat this club,” I said. “That’s all well and good, but there are a lot of traveling supporters who have expectations of you to take his measure. You are off to a good enough start but as we head out for the second half, let’s think about finishing this for them as well as for us.”

As a rule, I don’t usually like to talk like that. My personal belief is that the modern player is more self-motivated than motivated by the thought of getting a result for someone else. The notable exception to this was last weekend on Tyneside, when the squad knew Jonny was in a bad way. There, personal motivation was hardly necessary.

Yet here, I could sense that we needed a spark. One way to provide to appeal to the squad, and the other was of course through the substitution. Salomon has already bounced around a bit in terms of his position on the pitch, but he’s playing, which is what he wants. He’s also giving us huge pace wherever he happens to be, which is what I need. I hoped that moving him to a preferred position would help.

With that change made, we went out for the second half and proceeded to take the game to our hosts. Harper was playing with great confidence in the center of the park and providing linking play in Magallón’s manner within a few minutes of stepping onto the pitch. My main question – whether Harper can hold us in the position for the long term while Magallón recovers – is yet to be answered, but the early results seemed to look good.

Yet, for all our industry, we couldn’t make the breakthrough we craved. There was a noticeable lift in the quality of our play but the application through a finishing touch was lacking. Lita and Kitson were working well together but I could see the big striker noticeably tiring toward the seventy-minute mark and as he began to lag, I had a significant decision to make.

I turned to Dagoberto on the bench and the Brazilian nodded at me. I nodded in reply and he knew what to do. Like a flash he was down the touchline into his warm-ups and I was left with a decision to make.

Many managers like to play a “big-little” combination and in taking off the 6’3” Kitson I was certainly losing the “big” half of my strike force. Lita, at 5’9”, is quicksilver by comparison but Dagoberto isn’t going to invite any comparisons to Peter Crouch.

I would be giving up aerial prowess and a pretty good targetman for raw pace, which I thought might be a factor at the end of the match. I wasn’t playing for a draw, that much was for certain.

Harper came close with a piledriver of a shot from 25 yards that barely missed the top right corner on 68 minutes, and it seemed to me that the match hung on the knife’s edge. We needed something to topple the match into our column and as Dagoberto signaled that he was ready, I hoped he could provide the spark we needed.

He jogged onto the pitch and nodded to Lita, as we went to something of a “pace” alignment. Dagoberto played off Lita, who is a true striker, and the extra hop in his step promised much.

Pardew shifted to 4-3-3 at the same time, looking for the goal he also sought. Numerically they had the advantage in midfield but my confidence in 4-1-3-2 with Dagoberto playing as essentially a second raider was undiminished.

Maloney looked like he wanted a goal. Dagoberto looked like he was intent on scoring one. Lita didn’t want to be forgotten. Kalou lurked menacingly on the left. I liked our chances.

Naturally, it was Charlton who then took over the match. Zárate again victimized Ingimarsson, who was having a simply horrid match, and forced Lobont into a wonderful save from fifteen yards. He palmed the ball over the crossbar and then looked at my Icelandic defender, jabbing his index finger against his head in a “think!” gesture that was unmistakable.

I turned to the bench where Bikey had just returned from a jog up and down the touchline. “Get ready,” I told him. “You’re going in for Ivar.”

It was my third substitution and I understood the consequences to our attack in making it. We would stand or fall with the attackers on the pitch but I couldn’t risk letting Ingimarsson try to rectify his poor form in the waning moments of a drawn match.

I looked down the touchline, waiting for Bikey’s nod. As I did, I saw Rosenior loft a truly wonderful ball down the left that Kalou flicked forward. There was Dagoberto, in full flight and impossible to catch, leading a lightning counterattack that had just reached the area.

I barely had time to react before the Brazilian had the ball past Weaver to get us back on top fourteen minutes from time. His expression of joy at cracking the scoresheet for the first time this season consisted of a series of joyous leaps and bounds to the center of the pitch – and an unexpected maneuver.

Dagoberto pulled up his shirt to reveal Jonny Magallón’s jersey number of 16 underneath. I thought it was a hell of a nice gesture to make for his injured teammate and friend, but more importantly, thanks to his goal I could now bring on Bikey with the lead. That was a bigger thing yet.

# # #

[bingitz]

Great as always!

[tenthreeleader]

Thanks, Bingitz ... glad you are enjoying the read!

___

Ingimarsson headed past me without a word and sat on the bench. I can’t fault him entirely – it was his first match of the season after not playing in the first two and he needed the work – but he’s a professional and that means I need him to do the job he’s paid for. Today, he hadn’t done it well and the self-anger he was showing told me he knew it.

“Let it go,” I told myself as he sat. “He’ll be fine.”

I then pulled us into 4-5-1, since Dagoberto and Kalou were now both in the match to play off a striker. Daring Charlton to find an equalizer, we soldiered on.

This time, for the first time in three matches, there was no late dramatic moment, and I’m glad to note it. The home team huffed and puffed but never came close to blowing our house down, and a few minutes later we walked off the pitch winners.

We had beaten Pardew and I had taken the measure of my old boss. It was easy to tell he knew it as we approached for the post-match handshake. It was perfunctory and over quickly.

This time there was no offer of a glass of wine.

# # #

“Leaving it late is fine as long as you pick up what you need at the end,” I said after the match. Not exactly sage, I realize, but what else could I say?

“Tactically, you looked like you knew what you wanted to do,” a BBC reporter said. I frowned.

“Would there be a reason why I might not have known?” I bristled. “I had this conversation in Italy a hundred times last season and if I have to keep having it here, that’s fine. I’ve got a smart squad that seems to know how to carry out instructions. I’m well pleased with that and who knows, I may even throw in a few new wrinkles sometime soon.”

The end of my statement had a touch of sarcasm in it that was not lost on the press gaggle’s more astute observers. “Do you believe the players are starting to gain understanding of your tactic?” I was asked.

“It’s coming,” I said. “We’ve had a difficult stretch to open the season with our first home match being against Chelsea followed by two away games, but the players are picking it up quite nicely. We haven’t lost yet, so I’m certainly not going to complain.”

I then heard another voice from the right side of the room.

“Rob, how does it feel to be spending millions?”

I blinked hard. It couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t be.

It was.

Charlton Athletic 1 (Zárate 1st, 35)

Reading 2 (Lita 1st, 11; Dagoberto 1st, 76)

A – 27,074, The Valley, London

Man of the Match – Dagoberto, Reading

# # #

[viperk1]

Stefano Emiliani? Please, dear god no.

KUGTW, 10-3!

[salkster2102]

The evil tickler? You must put hours into this stuff. KUTGW.

[masta p]

It can't be him! Come on, 10-3, not again. When you write about him, a desire rises in me to strangle somebody.

[tenthreeleader]

You know, fellows, sometimes reporters are like bad checks. They never go away ....

___

Thursday, August 21

We’ve now moved to third in the table thanks to yesterday’s win, meaning Saturday’s match against Bolton is now a clash between two clubs in the top five.

The Trotters beat now-skidding Boro 2-0 at the Reebok thanks to El-Hadji Diouf’s brace to jump to fifth place, while Chelsea stayed above us on goal difference thanks to a 4-nil demolition of West Brom at Stamford Bridge.

I’m starting to think that the best way to judge how well you do against Chelsea is by how many times Giuseppi Rossi scores. He only scored once against us and we drew them, but he scored twice against the Baggies in a win for Avram Grant. Some guy named Drogba also scored, and Alex (the full international Alex, the one Roland Nilsson can’t have) added the fourth.

Nilsson is smiling, though, after hammering ten-man Blackburn 5-2 at Fratton Park. Charles N’Zogbia scored a brace for Pompey with Jermain Defoe, Dave Nugent and James Milner also netting while Roque Santa Cruz and Morten Gamst Pedersen replied for the visitors.

Liverpool have now scored six to open the season without conceding after Peter Crouch, Mohammed Sissoko and Fernando Torres all netted in a 3-0 win over Birmingham at Anfield, and Arsenal won away for the second time this week with Eduardo and Alexandre Song overcoming Scott Brown’s opener in a 2-1 win at Villa Park.

Everton took a first half lead through Joleon Lescott at PridePark but settled for a draw when Giles Barnes equalized for Derby five minutes from time. United got untracked at home to Cardiff, with “Roonaldo” doing all the damage in a 2-0 win.

Spurs are still top – so there’s a fair bit of consternation on Arsenal’s side of North London – as they scored twice in sixty seconds today to beat Manchester City at White Hart Lane. Didier Zokora scored on 13 minutes and while City was still regrouping, ex-City striker Nic Anelka beat Kasper Schmeichel. Obafemi Martins made it 3-0 just over half an hour into the game and so it hardly mattered when Giorgios Samaras got a consolation goal for the Citizens in the second half.

There was one other match yesterday – West Ham went to Tyneside and beat Newcastle 2-1. Geremi opened the scoring for the Magpies before Dean Ashton scored from the spot in the second half and Anton Ferdinand got the visitors all three points just before the hour. Sam Allardyce is now in 17th place. The Geordies are not pleased, and whistled the home team off the pitch after the match.

It could be worse, though. Our win yesterday at The Valley sent Charlton to the foot of the table. Pardew may have a long season ahead.

# # #

It was quite a day on the personal front. Patty had a long talk with her father today. She did it out of my earshot, which was both good and bad.

The conversation was pretty sharp at times. He is protective, overly so in my mind, and impossibly so from thousands of miles away. He really does need to let us live, and I have every confidence in my ability to help Patty do that.

The more I think about it the less I like what happened so early yesterday morning. He knows darn good and well that England is six time zones ahead of the United States, which makes me wonder why he made the call in the first place.

Patty didn’t want to speculate. “It’s not like him to do that,” she said, in defense of her father. “But I wasn’t real happy about it either.”

“Do you think he had been out someplace with your mother and just forgot?” I suggested. She frowned, but didn’t remonstrate with me.

“I don’t know, Rob,” she finally said. “He didn’t take the whole wedding well.”

“Tell me about it,” I said. “Look, honey, I love you and I will love you regardless of what happens, but this sort of thing is going to get old real quick with me. You made your decision and you’re an adult.”

“I know, Rob,” she replied. “I’m as upset about it as you are. I’m your wife, yes, but I’m also my own woman and I know what I’m doing.”

I smiled at her and took her in my arms. “Well, then, don’t you think it’s about time you told me?”

# # #

The other news, at least from my personal point of view, was the appearance of my old friend Stefano Emiliani at yesterday’s post-match news conference.

However, I could handle him differently today, and he got a taste of what life can be like in the Premiership from a reporter’s perspective. Andrew Waters was the first man I found today when I arrived at the training ground – before any of my players. That’s because I was looking for him.

“Andrew, I have a special assignment for you today,” I told him, and the young press agent gave me a smile in return. “I want you to find a reporter who must have a temporary credential from yesterday, and if he comes here today, I want you to make sure he has everything he needs.”

“Great,” he answered. “Red carpet, huh?”

“Let’s just say he was a thorn in my side in Italy last season,” I said. “Let’s show him how the other half lives, but there has to be a catch to it.”

“Oh?” Waters answered, warming to the challenge.

“He doesn’t get to me without my express say-so,” I said. “We can and we will be nice to him, but he had a habit of showing up to ask really annoying questions last year, and then questioning my character in print after he did. I don’t think we’re going to go there this time, so if he’s here to do some sort of story, which I expect he is, he’ll do it by my rules or not at all. Okay?”

“Clear,” he said. “I’ll get him sorted, boss.”

# # #

[Goofus]

You know, fellows, sometimes reporters are like bad checks. They never go away ....

You must mean they always come back?

[tenthreeleader]

To slightly alter the famous phrase, Goofus, yes. But Rob doesn't want him to come back ...

___

Our quick-fire schedule resumes again Saturday with Bolton’s visit. Today was therefore an active day, with a number of changes to the eleven planned for the weekend.

After Saturday’s match, we travel to the south coast for the midweek League Cup tie at Bournemouth, which means we'll change again. I’m going to bring a young squad to that match, sprinkled with squad players who all need a game.

The flurry of early activity will result in a couple of changes for the Bolton match as well. Ferreira is looking a bit piqued after some very hard work so I plan to give John Halls his first start of the season at right fullback. He is perhaps the best man-marker we have at that position – Ferreira included – and since Sammy Lee’s side has started so strongly my mind is on shutting down that side of the pitch with fresh legs.

Bikey will return to central defense in place of Ingimarsson, and Harper will retain his place as the holding midfielder. Dagoberto will go the full ninety this time and I am hoping to take advantage of his fiercely high morale from scoring yesterday’s winner.

# # #

The transfer news continues as well. The biggest news is that Milan is in for Arsenal’s young gun Cesc Fabregas. To say that Arsene Wenger is not pleased would be an understatement.

Speaking of not pleased, Emre is even unhappier in Newcastle today than he was before we went there to play, as Sam Allardyce has again refused permission for the player to consider an offer. This time Paris Saint-Germain has offered and again the boss has refused.

Out-of-favor Norwegian John Carew may wind up going to Serie A Bologna from Aston Villa, with Martin O’Neill not standing in his way. He’d be a bit foolish to try since I think Carew is about a foot taller than Martin in any event!

Finally, Steve Bruce is still trying to hit the transfer wires, linked today with Rangers wing Charlie Adam. Walter Smith says he’d let the player go for the right offer.

Meanwhile, no word from Madrid yet on Guti. I would only bring the player here under exactly the right circumstances due to his age, but there’s the matter first of Madrid accepting an offer, and the player agreeing to come. We’ve been down that road before.

# # #