News and Views

Karacan Hunts New Deal and Fixture Updates

24 June 2015
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Jem Karacan's agent will be working hard to secure a contract elsewhere for the midfielder as the club wait for his response to his new contract offer. Karacan's contract ends at the end of June, at which point he will become a free agent if he fails to accept the contract offered by Reading FC. The Royals have already seen Adam Federici and Alex Pearce reject contract offers and opt to continue their careers elsewhere on better deals. Karacan has been sitting on his contract offer for some time now which has caused various rumours to circulate about his next club - including speculation about a move to Turkish club Galatasaray. Whatever Karacan's destination it does seem a strong possibility that Karacan will be following others out of the door as he makes himself open to offers.

Reading's squad continues to dwindle as they have also failed to secure a single new signing over the summer. The club look set to rely on what remains of the Under-21 squad merging with the remnants of the first team squad for the pre-season campaign. Reading shortly jet off to Thailand for a pre-season tour - and there will probably be spare seats on the plane for anyone who wants to tag along.

The dedication, and funds, of Reading's new Thai owners remains something of a mystery as supporters grow concerned about the future of the club. The summer has also seen key backroom staff depart the club as Clarke looks to bring in his own team while reducing staff numbers. Of course a few signings will do plenty to stem the panic and ease the worry, but there still seems little convincing news from the club that any incoming transfers are truly in the pipeline.

Excluding the final day victory at Derby County, the Royals finished the season looking very much like relegation material. Since then several key players have departed and Steve Clarke's interviews already sound like a man fully expecting his slimline squad to be battling against relegation.

"The league fixtures are the bread and butter, the grind. You start to look at them and you start to think which ones are we going to get our points from? Points from that game, points from that game, every game looks difficult. The Championship is a league that I learned a lot about last year. Every game you can look at and it will be a difficult game... The size of the job, when I came in, I probably underestimated a little bit. It's a big challenge to turn the club around and get us going in the right direction again."

Considering the club are publishing these Clarke quotes on their own website it seems there is a bit of expectation setting going on from the club PR machine. A 21st place finish in the new season will obviously be seen as great success. But what about the longer term aims of Reading Football Club? The Premier League already seems an unobtainable step away for little Reading.

Meanwhile, Reading's first home match of the season has been pushed onto the Sunday to accommodate Leeds United playing on Thursday evening. The change means the game will kick-off at 3pm on Sunday 16 August at the Madejski. The change also means that Reading have had to move their Tuesday night fixture. Rather than play two games with only a day inbetween Reading will now make the long trip to Sheffield Wednesday on the following Wednesday.

Reading FC's start to the 2015/2016 Season:

  • Sat 08 Aug: Birmingham City - Championship (Away)
  • Tue 11 Aug: Colchester United - League Cup Round 1 (Away)
  • Sun 16 Aug: Leeds United - Championship (Home)
  • Wed 19 Aug: Sheffield Wednesday - Championship (Away)

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