Current team v. 2005 team

[Once upon a time .]

Although I’m a believer in the tremendous work the current manager has done with the players and believe that the position we are presently in is due to him , it leads me to ask how many of this team would get into the 2005 side . In my opinion , only one , Lucas Joah !

[Hendo]

Two teams play totally different ways so cannot compare. Football is a very different game 15/16 years down the line.

[windermereROYAL]

We`ve got some decent players but there is not a single one that I would swap from the 2005 team.

[Franchise FC]

Joao for Lita ?

In the squad rather than the team, Olise or Ejaria for Oster

[SouthDownsRoyal]

We`ve got some decent players but there is not a single one that I would swap from the 2005 team.

Agrees

[From Despair To Where?]

We`ve got some decent players but there is not a single one that I would swap from the 2005 team.

Agreed. What worked with the 2005/2006 was the whole team dynamic. Whist I think individually there is an arguement for a lot of today's squad being individually better, the only 2 I could see fitting into the 2005/06 team are Rinomhota and Laurent and neither of them are as good as Harper or Sidwell.

I also think the 2005/06 vintage Kitson in our curent team would tear the league a new arsehole.

[South Coast Royal]

Two teams play totally different ways so cannot compare. Football is a very different game 15/16 years down the line.

The only difference I feel is in the first touch of players now being better than at any other time in our history, especially with defenders.
Otherwise ON the pitch very little has changed, it is still a game of scoring goals and stopping them.

That 2005 side was special, this one is just good.

[11.30 from paddington]

Although he's been injured for much of the season, I think that Yiadom is a better player than Murty.

Another factor as to why it's hard to compare, is that we have a young team. Olise, Richards, Holmes, McIntyre, Ejaria, Laurent and Rinomhota may become better players than Little, Shorey, Murty, Ivar, Little, Harper and Sidwell, but aren't there yet and may never be.

You'd need to have at least a half-decent Prem career to be considered better than Shorey and Sidwell.

Joao has been fantastic, but Doyle, Kitson, Lita and even Long will be hard to get ahead of.

[Nameless]

12. Months too early to compare.
Coppell did not assemble his side over night. I don’t see this as Paunovic’s full side yet. Whether he will be able to keep the core together and then build on it over the summer is a big question. Coppell was fortunate / clever in that there was not a single player in his side that was attracting attention from other clubs at the start of the season. Half our side at the moment will be wanted by clubs higher up the pecking order.
FWIW I think Coppell’s side was by far the better team but Pauno possibly has the players with more potential.

[Wycombe Royal]

Although he's been injured for much of the season, I think that Yiadom is a better player than Murty.

If this was a Handforth Parish Council meeting you'd be kicked out for saying that.

[Hound]

12. Months too early to compare.
Coppell did not assemble his side over night. I don’t see this as Paunovic’s full side yet. Whether he will be able to keep the core together and then build on it over the summer is a big question. Coppell was fortunate / clever in that there was not a single player in his side that was attracting attention from other clubs at the start of the season. Half our side at the moment will be wanted by clubs higher up the pecking order.
FWIW I think Coppell’s side was by far the better team but Pauno possibly has the players with more potential.

yeah this pretty much. I'd like to go back and look this time next year

This side is interesting - I think we could see where Bowen was going last year and I think he deserves great credit. Yet I don't think for one moment he'd have had us where we are now. I've really enjoyed watching them evolve over the course of the season and its very clear they still have bags of room for improvement and potential to do so much more

[Mr Angry]

A colleague is a Bristol Rovers fan; they sacked their manager a couple of days ago, and a "name in the frame" is SSC......so he asked me about him.

My view was that he inherited an okish side but strengthened in key areas, and then got the team playing as a whole at a much higher level than they did as individuals, which, togther with his man management made Reading an utterly irresistable force playing exciting football week in week out (I mentioned when we were clapped off by the oppositon at places like Ipswich and Cardiff that season......).

I told him that, however much we (ok, I) still worship the ground he walks on, football has moved on significantly in the intervening Years and that I wouldn't neccesarily say he would be my first choice as a Manager today - a DoF helping a younger Manager, definitely, but the main man? Nope.

As for the team today compared to the 106 squad, it is a nice parlour game but the reality is that skills have moved on, the opposition has moved on and trying to compare someone like Sidwell to Laurent, or Joao to Kitson is ultimately just that - a game.

Personally, whilst I think that Olise and Ejaria are the 2 most skillful players I have ever seen in a Reading shirt, the team between 2005 - 2007 will be THE team that Reading fans in 100 years time will be using as the benchmark......we were privilieged to have witnessed them.

[TiagoIlori]

That team walked the league, no other team was fit to lace their boots, meanwhile this current team isn’t even the best team in the league right now. Pauno doesn’t deserve to be judged one way or another after one season, I reckon he can step up a gear when he’s allowed to form his own team. Who knows how far this team can go.

[bcubed]

Although he's been injured for much of the season, I think that Yiadom is a better player than Murty.

If this was a Handforth Parish Council meeting you'd be kicked out for saying that.

Too oxf*rd right

[Lower West]

Have a Kitson in today's team. For work ethic alone. Good teams defend from the front.

[Henley Royal 1]

None would get in the best team to get promoted from the Championship.

[SCIAG]

‘Greed on taking Yiadom over Murts. That was a special team but Murty was the most ordinary member.

Then we’re left with:

Marcus vs Rafael - Marcus every day

Sonko vs Morrison - Morrison is a better footballer but Sonko was a colossus and some of the things he did were incredible.

Ingimarsson vs McIntyre - this might go for McIntyre one day, but not yet. Ingimarsson was Mr Dependable. Even Moore can’t quite compete.

Shorey vs Richards - Richards is quicker but Shorey was capable of dictating play from full back. Richards would have to play for us in the top flight to get in consideration.

Harper vs Rinomhota - another one that I can see being flipped in a few years. A lot of stylistic similarities although Rino is a bit “tougher” and a little less clean. Harper has the advantage for years of great service. Harper also scored seven goals that season, which is much more than I can see Rino getting any time soon.

Sidwell vs Laurent - Sidwell scored ten goals that season from midfield. Enough said.

Olise vs Convey - I think this is the natural comparison. Olise is an extremely gifted young man. Bobby was also an extremely gifted young man. Bobby’s career never recovered from that terrible injury he picked up against Portsmouth. Olise will probably have a better career, but so far hasn’t reached Bobby’s level in a Reading shirt - think it was something like 7 goals and 14 assists that season?

Ejaria vs Little - again think this is the natural comparison even though they play on opposite sides. Little that season was unplayable, set up something ridiculous like 17 goals and scored 5 of his own. Ejaria is also unplayable, but doesn’t have the same attacking output.

Doyle vs Swift - Swift is IMO the best “final pass” player we have ever had, extremely good at finding the pass to crack a defence and very tactically aware, a truly modern academy player. Doyle was Doyle, a very long way from that but a great instinctive goalscorer who ran the channels very well. If you were selecting a squad to win the league this year I’d go with Swift because the extra midfielder is so valuable these days, but sticking him in that team wouldn’t work.

Kitson vs Joao - screw it, Joao’s the better player. Both players had absolutely delightful technique, but Kitson was reluctant to use his frame to its full advantage. Joao is even bigger, he’s stronger and quicker and happy to throw his weight around. His technique is even better than Kitson’s, although Kitson was better with his head and better at penalties. Joao can twist defenders in knots and is a huge threat even outside the area.

[Nameless]

None would get in the best team to get promoted from the Championship.

Joao ahead of Bamford perhaps ?

[Half Time Pizza]

The current team would slaughter the 2005 lot. For a start everyone bar Long has retired or playing toy town football