A famous pundit once said that you don’t win anything with kids, but with Reading’s academy graduates now swelling the squad, Rodgers must be hoping that his current crop can again disprove the adage. With no less than five players making the step up to the first team last season under Steve Coppell, several more sitting on the fringes and a new manager that has a track record for blooding youngsters, it provides a great opportunity to establish a regular starting spot. What remains to be seen though, is which of our latest crop will make the breakthrough and earn their place in the team.
Jem Karacan seems like an obvious choice, having put in some impressive performances last season and having the hunger to battle for the jersey. His position is a congested one though and he will compete with many more established players for that spot. If Rodgers chooses to utilise three centre-midfielders, as he suggested he might in Reading’s change of style in the 5-1 win over Didcot, then this could suit Karacan.
James Henry has also confessed to enjoying this style of football and he could be another major beneficiary of the Rodgers regime. He played with the first team against Didcot and comes off the back of a good loan spell with Millwall last season. The highly-rated youngster will look to cement a place on the right wing, a position he looks to take from Jimmy Kebe, who may move to the left after Stephen Hunt’s inevitable departure. I have been quite impressed with what I have seen of Henry so far and would certainly not begrudge him the chance to show what he can do on that flank, although another winger could be necessary to provide competition on the flanks.
One who is almost certain to hold down a first team spot next season is Adam Federici. The Australian goalkeeper has always impressed in the past when standing in for Marcus Hahnemann and, with the American’s departure, is the obvious choice to replace him. Ben Hamer is also expected to compete for that position, though he will probably start as an understudy. Another who made his debut last season, Alex Pearce, will no doubt feature more heavily this season with less competition for the position. If Bikey stays, then Pearce will be unlikely to start, but he has shown what he can do in the centre of defence and will be looking to force his way into the team this term.
Also on the fringes are Simon Church, Hal Robson-Kanu and Julian Kelly. Church was a surprise inclusion in the last game of Coppell’s reign and has impressed for the Wales U21 squad, although his loan spells have not been quite so fruitful. Don’t be surprised to see him play a part this season though. Robson-Kanu is something of an unknown quantity, but could be given a chance at some stage. I wasn’t overly impressed with Julian Kelly last year, but he was given a fair few opportunities and was clearly highly regarded by the old management.
I’m most excited about seeing James Henry and Jem Karacan really breaking through this season, as well as Alex Pearce who I think can do a good job for us at the back. Who are you tipping to shine?
NB: I’ve just seen that Ryan Bertrand has signed on a season-long loan, so there is another youngster to add to the equation (albeit not a homegrown one.) I’ll try to blog on the potential impact of this transfer when I can.
July 28, 2009 at 3:58 pm |
Bozanic could of been great, shouldn’t of gone to Cheltenham.
July 28, 2009 at 4:26 pm |
Bozanic could turn out to be a good player for the future, but I think there are just too many players in front of him at the moment. In the limited times that I’ve seen him, he hasn’t done anything to suggest that he deserves to be challenging for the first team just yet. Some more first-team experience at Cheltenham will do him good and perhaps put him in better stead for the first-team when he returns.