Newly promoted Reading’s slow start to life back in the Premier League means Wednesday night’s League Cup tie at Loftus Road pits the top flight’s bottom two sides against each other.

Overview

Had Tony Fernandes – net worth estimated at more than $400m by Forbes – turned up at QPR 15 years ago it would have immediately catapulted them into the top three in the pre-season Premier League title odds. This was a time when Blackburn Rovers, by anybody's standards a middle-of-the-road provincial football club, could be taken out of the second tier, into the Premier League and then on to become champions of England by a local steel magnate worth "just" £600m. Imagine the reaction back then had Anton Zingarevich bought Reading FC. The 30-year-old is heir to his father's fortune of more than £3bn, made through paper would you believe.

But times have changed. In a single season Premier League teams now bring in twice what Walker invested into Blackburn through television deals, commercial revenues and prize money. To do what Walker did at Ewood Park – effectively buy the title – you have to be one of the top five richest people in the world, and even then Manchester City came within two minutes of losing out on the final day of last season.

The issue is footballers are a finite resource. Yes you get players like Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldo and others who are just so unbelievably talented you feel dirty even looking at them. And the riches of the Premier League mean clubs in this country now shop in all four corners of the globe, where 20 years ago even signing a Frenchman was considered exotic and teams were limited to three foreign players in their starting elevens. But if everybody gets rich – and everybody in the Premier League is definitely that – then essentially you just end up buying the same sort of player you would have done a decade ago, but paying four times as much in transfer fee and wages.

Reading and QPR need their wealthy benefactors just to tread water in this league, and even then it may not be good enough as their current league positions of nineteenth and twentieth suggest. Zingarevich has enabled the Royals to, quoting former Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn, "blow the competition out of the water" to sign Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak but mostly their signings this summer looked pretty much like any other barrel scrapings any other newly promoted team would have gone after. Garath McCleary, Danny Guthrie, Adrian Mariappa – good players, sound signings, well scouted, but proof that even with a Russian billionaire in the boardroom, these days you're just queuing at the same trough with everybody else for the same slop at four times the price it used to cost.

So in a strange way football might be about to come full circle. It used to be about who had the best manager, who could scout the best players from obscure locations, who steered clear of injuries, who was tactically more astute. Then it became all about who had the richest chairman, but as we come to a point where everybody in the Premier League has a super rich chairman perhaps things like management and scouting will become the key deciding factor once again. I'm obviously excluding the likes of Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal from this because the way the Champions League has worked in recent years has made them obscenely richer than everybody else and much more attractive for the better players.

Below those four the playing field seems to be levelling off. Last season Newcastle United were able to push on up to fifth just a year after winning promotion through sound management and scouting of players. Lower down, all three newly promoted teams avoided relegation for the first time in a decade at the expense of two long serving members who suffered in one instance through having lunatics in charge of the club and a complete arse as manager, and in the other through losing an entire midfield to injury in a transfer window era that makes coping with such occurrences a real challenge. That’s the other thing about football – even if all 20 clubs have a multi millionaire owner, three of them will still be relegated at the end of the season.

When I tipped Reading as a potential relegation candidate during the summer I was told that their new owner would ensure it didn't happen – and that may well be right, he has the potential to spend £100m in the January transfer window if he wants, and even in the modern game that would make a colossal difference to them.

But of more importance could be their management, experience, luck with injuries, tactics and other more traditional footballing factors compared to the other clubs around them. On paper Reading's team doesn't look great for the level it's at, and while their manager has done an outstanding job up to now he lacks experience both in general – his only previous number one jobs came at Slough and Woking – and in the Premier League where he's never managed before. Couple that with their propensity to start seasons slowly – they were deeply ensconced in midtable at the halfway point of the last two campaigns before staging extraordinary runs to make first the play off final and then the top spot – which appears to be rearing its head again and it's a bleak picture.

They won 16 of their last 21 matches last season, drawing the other two, but any momentum gained from that will have dissipated during a three defeat start to the new campaign. As well as automatically assuming that a rich owner will see a club right, conventional wisdom also states that cup competitions are evil de-railers of league campaigns. Reading would do well to avoid both assumptions: their rich Russian is no guarantee of survival, and a victory against QPR on Wednesday night could be a much needed confidence boost and momentum builder.

Interview

This week we’re joined by David from the Royals Rendezvous website for an insight into Reading and the start they’ve made to the new season. At short notice, for a midweek League Cup game, we’re grateful to David for taking the time to help us out. He’s knocking around on our message board as well if you want to chat further.

A difficult start to the season for Reading , what have you made of the performances and results so far? Worried, or do you think things will improve?

A real jumpy start from the Reading perspective. The pre-season was not special, far from it, with too many draws. Although the play got progressively better, so many goal-scoring opportunities seemed to come and go. And so to the first game - if we had played Stoke half-way through the season then I'd have expected a win, but a point was decent enough to get the ball rolling. Chelsea was at that moment the ‘extra' game (wow, we'd have gone top if we had won!) and you can't ask more than the players gave - they took the game to the European champions and were a tad unlucky in the end. Sunderland was simply disappointing - you don't expect to have these types of summer waterlogged cancellations in the Premier League and I strongly believe we would have taken something there too. With a 20+ day gap without football, the Bray Wanderers (8-1 win in Ireland ) friendly was just a bit of fun, but all helped to feed confidence and team spirit in theory. But the next game, at home to Spurs, we were comprehensively outplayed and lucky to be finishing only at 1-3. We thought “ah, but West Brom ” will be more on our terms but it wasn’t and we went down by a solitary goal. WBA didn’t play well, but we were worse. The big problem seems to be feeding our forwards.

What do you know about your new owner? If he going to be throwing money around in January?

We know quite a lot, our forum has a thread of nearly 600 posts about this specific topic, and others related to it. We know that he’s genuine: he went to school in the Reading district, and used to go to the old Elm Park as a teenager. Despite moving across to the US it seems he hadn’t forgotten us. We’re still not entirely sure how money is really his own, and how much his dad is there as a back-up. Sir John Madejski had given a remarkable 20 years of his life to Reading as the previous chairman (and indeed stays on in name in the board for now) but he recognised that the 21st century global football market required new approaches and new men. By the way, Anton Zingarevich’s wife Katsia is a Victoria 's Secret model and is outrageously beautiful – I must try to get a glance of her later in the season at the Mad Stad. However, Anton won’t be splashing ridiculous amounts of money about. He’s pledged to do it the ‘ Reading way’, relying on astute signings by the manager, and a mixture of young talent with older, autumnal, proven professionals. I think we're almost spoilt now that we're settling down in the Zingarevich era. OK, as I’ve just said, he's not throwing money out of the pram but there's a comfortable feeling now that we definitely lacked since Madejski's last Premiership adventure. It's almost strange, I believe that Brian McDermott has that scouting thing in his blood, he would prefer to discover someone himself than receive the best the Premier has to offer.

Does the change of ownership increase pressure on Brian McDermott? Any suggestion the Russian wants to get his own man in?

No, the previous paragraph sort of sums up the continuation process at the club. When Anton’s take-over was first announced I believe that Brian McDermott was just a little worried, but having sat down and talked the thing through I think he got the full vote of confidence. Unless we get relegated, I cannot see Brian being pushed … and if that happens it’s only 50/50 as well.

Who are the star men and weak links in your team?

I trust the management team and so prefer not to see any transfer negatively, not that I've too many doubts here at this young stage of the season. However, for me it's been a joy to see Garath McCleary adapt so effortlessly to a higher level - I forecast he'll do real damage to defences out there. If Jimmy Kébé can keep himself fit and on his feet then he promises to do the same. Guthrie has been a motor in midfield, with plenty of vision in the play. Pogrebnyak promises a lot, but when Jason Roberts is fully fit he’ll be equally dangerous in my opinion, although he’s now 34.

The Youth Academy is the best that it’s ever been, and got off to a flying start in the new U21 league. We’ve a fair few younger talents out on loan too. In a couple of years you’ll hear of names like Obita and D’Ath, amongst others, springing through. There are dangers though – left back we have Ian Harte, who’s given great service but understandably is slowing as he approaches his mid-30s and his chief cover man Nicky Shorey needs to prove he's still up for it more than the other younger newcomers as well. Then there’s been a slight goalkeeping worry – Adam Federici, normally so sure, has had a couple of big blunders and is temporarily disposed by McCarthy with Danish U21 international Mikkel Andersen is also waiting in the wings. Is pressure getting to Adam? Time will tell.

Despite possessing good midfielders in theory, the play from midfield up to the front has been sub-standard so far, and here is my greatest worry at present.

What are your hopes and ambitions for this season, and can they be realistically achieved?

I feel we have enough in the tank to compete with everyone except for the very best of all. The confidence factor does play a big part – and although we just got up as champions by a nose out in front, we weren’t as rampant as the 2005-06 record team. Perhaps the team unity last season meant we over-achieved – the team as a whole played rather better than the sum of the individual players. I’m not panicking at all just yet. If we start to pick up a few points I can now still foresee a comfortable finish - maybe even up to twelfth, higher than my close season prediction - but if we struggle by the end of the next six matches it might well be a struggle all season. The Premier League doesn’t forgive.

Given his failure at Reading , what do you make of Brendan Rodgers' career path since his sacking at the Madejski

Interesting question. The Royals Rendezvous members certainly hold no grudge here; there’s a time and place for everything, and Reading came either too soon or too late for him. When he was dismissed in December 2010 after just a few months in the job, we were hovering just above the relegation places in the Championship. But there was no animosity either way, and we were delighted when he succeeded at Swansea , even taking into account that losing a play-off final to the very man, which was a hard bitter pill to swallow.

His season at Swansea last season was undeniably excellent, but could it be the case that a jump in the dark to Liverpool corresponds to that leap to Reading coming from Watford ? It’s difficult to say, but sometimes I get the impression that being making it so professional with the plans, writing notes down in dossiers, explanations of five year plans etc. make him lose sight of the wood for the trees. Liverpool fans are understandably concerned, but it’s early days yet.

Scout Report

When I looked down our fixture list and spotted that we had both Spurs and Reading coming up directly after they’d met each other live on Sky I was delighted – one match, two scout reports. Sadly Tottenham’s 3-1 win at the Madejski Stadium last weekend turned out to be almost a complete waste of time as a scouting mission because Spurs were so dominant and Reading so dreadful it was barely a contest at all.

Given that QPR were far better than Tottenham for long periods of the game at the weekend I guess we should take that as a positive for Wednesday night, but first of all it’s hard to believe Reading can be that bad again and second it’s almost impossible to predict what team each manager will pick for the game.

Anyway, excuses out of the way let’s quickly run through the bits and pieces I did pick out of the Reading wreckage last Sunday. The first thing to note is that despite keeping goal almost uninterrupted since Marcus Hahnemann left, including last season’s promotion campaign, Australian Adam Federici has paid a heavy price for early mistakes this season, most notably in the home draw with Stoke on the opening day. He’s been replaced in goal by England Under 21 stopper Alex McCarthy whose previous experience has come during eight loan spells ranging in length from one match at Cambridge United to 44 at Yeovil and in levels from Team Bath up to Leeds United. Watch out for them loading the right side of the field from his goal kicks if he plays – and the opportunities that can create on the opposite flank if you can win possession and switch it quickly from the kick.

The defence in front of him was something of a disaster zone against Tottenham. They paired Alex Pearce and our old charge Kaspars Gorkss at centre back, and the pair of them held a very high line in an effort to get Tottenham’s lone striker Jermain Defoe offside whenever they could. Spurs combated this – somewhat bizarrely given the relative physical stature of the three players involved – by going long, direct and early to Defoe. Now you would think that the tiny England international would simply be dominated physically in such circumstance but whether Gorkss and Pearce were terrible, Defoe was exceptional, or a mixture of both it worked superbly for Andre Villas Boas all afternoon. QPR could easily profit in the same way with Adel Taarabt, Djibril Cisse or Junior Hoilett.

The only positive impact Pearce had on the game was from attacking set pieces, and I couldn’t believe Tottenham didn’t get wise to him earlier. The centre back arrives late, and drifts out of the crowd in the box to the back post where Danny Guthrie or Ian Harte look for him constantly. On Sunday at White Hart Lane Tottenham did something very similar to QPR, withdrawing Caulker just before the ball is kicked and then sending it very deep into the area and one of his headers back across the goal dropped in off Ale Faurlin. Rangers must watch out for Pearce doing a similar thing.

While Harte’s set pieces were often dangerous, the positives in his performance started and ended there. The 33-year-old was really made to look his age by Aaron Lennon and appeared to be an obvious weak spot that QPR and others will no doubt pick at until he’s replaced.

In the first half they played with Pavel Pogrebnyak alone in attack and were simply too easy to deal with. The wingers Jobi McAnuff and Garath McCleary were not in the game at all and it left the Russian isolated and easy to mark with a man in front and behind of him. They removed Jem Karacan at half time, and left him out at the weekend at West Brom as well, in favour of Adam Le Fondre which eased the situation slightly, but the downside of that move was reducing the numbers in midfield and caused them to drop deeper to try and deal with Tottenham which in turn left the striker’s isolated for a different reason. Whether he’s alone, with a partner or as part of a three man attack, Pogrebnyak must be marked with a centre back behind and a man in front of him at all times. Reading will look to him early, and he’s a hard working, physical, talented striker.

The problem is, Reading don’t have a lot else of similar quality to play with him.

Links >>> Reading Official Website >>> Royals Rendezvous Message Board >>> The Tilehurst End Blog >>> Hob Nob Anyone? Message Board >>> Supporters’ Trust >>> Vital Reading

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fakekerby added 11:50 - Sep 26 Interesting what the Reading fan has to say, but he does sound a tad deluded (for the want of a nicer word) about their chances of survival and individual games, i.e. expecting to beat stoke, sunderland, west brom.
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TacticalR added 17:06 - Sep 26 Thanks to Clive and David. Sugar daddies. You can't live with them and you can't live without them. Reading might have Katsia Zingarevich, but we have quality in depth, with proven talent in the case of César's wife Susana Werner, and a number of exciting prospects coming through the ranks of our Air Asia hostesses. I haven't seen enough of Reading to judge how they'll do over the season, but I got a sense of déjà vu in the assessment of other teams from a Reading perspective. You might *expect* to get something from West Brom, but they *know* how to get something from you. Our experience last season was that points come from unexpected places. If Reading are more than the sum of the parts, that's actually a good sign in my opinion as teamwork can make up for having less talented individuals. I am not sure how much you can read into Reading's performance against Tottenham, as once the Reading defence got the shakes they were all over the place. Obviously, it would be great if that happened again, but I wouldn't bank on it. Kaspars Gorkšs certainly looked uncomfortable against Tottenham, but he'll probably have a blinder against us.

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