Who put a spell on ex-Reading players?

Exactly two years ago, Reading were fighting for a UEFA Cup seat, displaying a unique team spirit and manager Steve Coppell’s specific approach. Now, with some new players, Steve Coppell is fighting for promotion to elite. They are respectably well seated considering the new surroundings, but the performances are not what Madejski Stadium fans would like to see. The battle continues…

Meanwhile, few very important players from the glorious period have changed their surroundings, choosing mostly to follow the scent of money. Several surely most famous players of that Reading’s fantastic generation of players are Steve Sidwell, Ibrahim Sonko, Nickey Shorey and Dave Kitson. All of them have one thing in common – an understatement follows – they failed to fit in after the departure from Madejski.

Steve Sidwell went to Chelsea after that Reading’s successful season in the Premier League. He left on a free transfer since his contract expired, but he failed to do something noteworthy with the Blues. He isn’t even played regularly in Aston Villa, where he is spending his time currently, which is a shame for the player which was named the best Reading player, at the time, by both fans and pundits.

Ibrahim Sonko will remain remembered as the uncompromised fighter, a man who didn’t have any problems with seeing red if that was to prevent rivals from scoring. He is also known as the man who inflicted that difficult neck injury on the Chelsea goalkeeper, Carlo Cudicini, after which he received life-threatening messages by Blues’ fans. Irreplaceable link in Steve Coppell’s Premier League formation suffered a severe ligament injury in January 2007, while he had problems getting back on the pitch after a lengthy recovery. At the beginning of the season, he signed a deal with Stoke but only played 9 games for Potters, doing nothing significant in the process.

Nicky Shorey was an irreplaceable left-back of t he historic generation, and had always been fan’s second favorite after Steve Sidwell for seasons 2005/06 and 2006/07. He remained faithful after that debut season in Premier League, but when the Royals sunk down in the Championship, he was forced to say goodbye. He was transferred to Aston Villa where he just can get enough time and space to try and prove his worth. Despite being one of the country’s best defense-backs who even earned the national call-up, Martin O’Neill is still keeping him benched.

David Kitson is another Reading’s trademarks over the past few years. Particularly important striker and goal-scorer in that convincing 2005/06 season (when Reading collected 106 points in the Championship losing only two games in the entire season) was unlucky in his debut Premiership appearance when he bagged a goal, but bagged an injury to keep him off the pitch for more than half of the season. Still, he manage to get back in style, played a year more for Royals and then, after the relegation to Championship, decided to stay in the Premier League becoming the most expensive player in Stokes’ history. He also didn’t leave a big trail in his next club, because he has only had 16 appearances for Potters this season, and hasn’t score a single goal. These days, Stoke have decided to send him back in his former club on loan, so Kitson has come back to help Reading in their final preparations for Premier League, never say never…

Popularity: 8% [?]