Ex Royals (No not prince Andrew)

[morganb]

Danny Loader scores on his Porto first team debut

Olise nice assist for Palace's second goal against Man City

[Sutekh]

Club legend, Martin Hicks, interview with Ady on BBC Berks Reading FC podcast site now available.

[Sutekh]

Chuffingly tricky quiz about some of Reading’s most expensive signings at the link below.

I got 24 in the end but was lucky on several guesstimates.

Note, the answer that FLW have for question 10 is wrong as far as I am aware and the question options for it, currently, are in a bit of a mess.

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/snack ... s/results/

[From Despair To Where?]

Not sure the options for Question 1 are right either. The correct answer is surely "too many"

[Royals and Racers]

Only just realised Aaron Kuhl is playing for Slough Town and scored the only goal from a PEN in their FA Trophy win on Saturday.

[AthleticoSpizz]

As is Scott Davies

[URZZZZ]

Just seen Baker made his second Chelsea appearance eight years after his debut on Saturday, huge waste of a promising career

Olise getting rave reviews from Palace fans, they’re a bit surprised he hasn’t featured more but with a couple of Palace attackers off at the AFCON, there’s potential for him to get a starting run going

Aluko also getting rave reviews by Ipswich fans after a slow start, seems to be playing well for them, albeit only in League One

[Pepe the Horseman]

Just seen Baker made his second Chelsea appearance eight years after his debut on Saturday, huge waste of a promising career

Olise getting rave reviews from Palace fans, they’re a bit surprised he hasn’t featured more but with a couple of Palace attackers off at the AFCON, there’s potential for him to get a starting run going

Aluko also getting rave reviews by Ipswich fans after a slow start, seems to be playing well for them, albeit only in League One

Olise has been brilliant every time he's come on for Palace. The fans love him already. Think he was injured, or possibly out with covid for a few games. Like you say, expect him to get plenty of game time over the next few weeks.

[Orion1871]

Lewis Baker allegedly about to sign for Stoke on a free transfer.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Smdh. Things going from bad to worse.

[John Smith]

Lewis Baker allegedly about to sign for Stoke on a free transfer.

One of the most overrated players we've had in recent years (alongside Al-Habsi).

[NathStPaul]

Lewis Baker allegedly about to sign for Stoke on a free transfer.

One of the most overrated players we've had in recent years (alongside Al-Habsi).

The same Al-Habsi who almost single handedly got us to a playoff final?

[Pepe the Horseman]

Lewis Baker allegedly about to sign for Stoke on a free transfer.

One of the most overrated players we've had in recent years (alongside Al-Habsi).

Actually agree with you on Al-Habsi.

[Hendo]

Lewis Baker allegedly about to sign for Stoke on a free transfer.

One of the most overrated players we've had in recent years (alongside Al-Habsi).

Actually agree with you on Al-Habsi.

+1 here as well.

[Hendo]

Lewis Baker allegedly about to sign for Stoke on a free transfer.

One of the most overrated players we've had in recent years (alongside Al-Habsi).

The same Al-Habsi who almost single handedly got us to a playoff final?

You seem to have misspelled Yann Kermorgant.

[bcubed]

One of the most overrated players we've had in recent years (alongside Al-Habsi).

The same Al-Habsi who almost single handedly got us to a playoff final?

You seem to have misspelled Yann Kermorgant.

I’m inclined to think we needed them both

[NathStPaul]

The same Al-Habsi who almost single handedly got us to a playoff final?

You seem to have misspelled Yann Kermorgant.

I’m inclined to think we needed them both

Definitely did. I was just trying to make a point about Al-Habsi. Anyone who thought he was "awful" clearly didn't see him play in that season. We would have been midtable without him.

[Hendo]

You seem to have misspelled Yann Kermorgant.

I’m inclined to think we needed them both

Definitely did. I was just trying to make a point about Al-Habsi. Anyone who thought he was "awful" clearly didn't see him play in that season. We would have been midtable without him.

No one has said he was awful.

Overrated - yes. I seem to remember him being terrible with his feet and there was always a mistake waiting to happen - as it was with most of his career.

Good shot stopper, but that was pretty much it.

[NathStPaul]

I’m inclined to think we needed them both

Definitely did. I was just trying to make a point about Al-Habsi. Anyone who thought he was "awful" clearly didn't see him play in that season. We would have been midtable without him.

No one has said he was awful.

Overrated - yes. I seem to remember him being terrible with his feet and there was always a mistake waiting to happen - as it was with most of his career.

Good shot stopper, but that was pretty much it.

What a terrible opinion.

He was incredible for us and deserves a great deal more respect than you are giving him. Shocking.

[Mr Angry]

Excellent article on Michael Olise in todays Telegraph:

The rise of Crystal Palace gem Michael Olise - a fearless talent with Brighton in his sights

Former Reading manager Mark Bowen speaks about Olise's quiet nature, 'taking the p---' in training and how he bounced back up from kicks
By Sam Dean13 January 2022 • 7:00am

Michael Olise’s first response to being struck on the head by a bottle, hurled at him before he took a corner at Millwall on Saturday, was to sweep his hair back into place. His second was to calmly remove the bottle from the pitch, and his third was to smile up at the supporters who had thrown it. With his arms he then performed a beckoning gesture, as if to ask for more.

As an exercise in crowd management, it was far from ideal. As an indication of Olise’s fearlessness, though, it was entirely in keeping with his approach to this fierce south London derby. A televised meeting with Millwall, in the FA Cup, at the Den? Come on then, Olise was saying. Bring it on.

Even though the Crystal Palace winger did not celebrate his goal against Millwall, curled expertly into the far corner, there is no questioning whether he enjoyed himself on Saturday. This could be seen best in the aftermath of Palace’s second, scored by Jean-Philippe Mateta from Olise’s cross, when the 20-year-old turned to the home fans and raised a finger to his lips.

It requires a certain amount of swagger for a player to feel comfortable shushing a furious swarm of Millwall supporters, and Olise has never been lacking in that department. This is a creative talent of considerable technical gifts, someone who has long enjoyed demonstrating his ability, and the Palace fans are growing increasingly excited about his potential.

There is every reason for those supporters to feel giddy, especially when they consider how effective Olise could become once Patrick Vieira has completed the process of easing him into Premier League football. In 314 minutes of top-flight action this season, Olise has scored two goals and registered three assists — a record of one goal involvement every 63 minutes, the best of any player in the division.

Not since the 2016/17 season has a player contributed goals and assists at a faster rate, and Olise will hope to add to his tally against Brighton — another of Palace’s rivals — on Friday night. With Wilfried Zaha and Jordan Ayew away on international duty, Olise will surely start again at the Amex.

For those who have seen Olise’s growth, his performance against Millwall will not have come as a surprise. He regularly showed his footballing class in the Championship with Reading, where he excelled as a teenager before Palace agreed to pay his £8 million release clause in the summer. Brentford were also interested, while Tottenham Hotspur had scouted him extensively in recent seasons.

It was in his early days at Reading, before he had established himself as a first-team regular, when Olise demonstrated he had both the physical resilience and mental fortitude to cope with the demands of professional football.

“He has got enormous ability,” says Mark Bowen, who managed Olise at Reading. “In training he would sometimes take the p--- a little bit, in his own way, and the senior players would clatter into him. He would just shrug his shoulders, bounce up and get on with the game.

“It was the way he took the hits and just bounced up and carried on. That is what made me think, alongside all the ability that he has, that he had a chance. His attitude was: ‘I don’t care. You can’t hurt me. Give me the ball again.’”

Olise, who is eligible to represent England, France, Algeria and Nigeria, is not always the easiest player to manage. At Reading he had occasional moments of lateness, and he was rather less interested in defensive drills than in playing matches. Spells at the Manchester City and Chelsea academies did not pan out as he might have hoped, and it is understood there has been the odd grumble at Palace about his approach to training.

But with age comes maturity, and with talent comes opportunity. Crucially, there is no suggestion that Olise is unwilling to work and fight for his team. “He has got an engine on him,” says Bowen. “It was never a case that he could not be bothered to run back. He will run all day.”

At Reading the senior players were protective of Olise. Yes, they would sometimes kick him when he tried his tricks on them in training. But they would not stand for opposition teams doing the same.

“He gelled with the players,” says Bowen. “He could infuriate them, and the senior players would have a few words with him, but there was very much a nurturing attitude with him. They wanted to look after him, to watch his back. They all knew the player that he was.
“He is an engaging character. I would not class him as a flash player off the pitch. Not at all. He is a quiet kid. You would never hear Michael being loud or shouting in the canteen. He had two or three close friends and he would sit quietly and talk with them. He loves his football and is maybe not entirely comfortable with everything else that goes with it.”

This could be seen in Olise’s brief post-match interview on Saturday, when his answers were far from expansive. Asked how he felt about scoring his goal, he replied: “Yeah, I feel good.” When it was put to him that he had shown real quality in front of a hostile crowd, he smiled and said: “Yeah.”

None of this matters, of course, when Olise is being so expressive with his feet and so clinical in the final third. During Bowen’s spell as Reading manager, from October 2019 to August 2020, he pulled Olise to one side and told him to focus on his end product.
“I told him: ‘Mike, you’re at Reading. The one thing that takes you to the next level is goals and assists. Concentrate on the final ball.’”

The message clearly sunk in, and Palace are now reaping the rewards.