‘Old school’ Ince is getting the best from his squad
HANDS up Reading fans who predicted the team would be third in the Championship table this international break.
Thought not. Third from bottom maybe, but not third from top.
Last Saturday’s beautifully ugly 1-0 away win at Wigan was a classic of its genre.
Make the first half dour and ugly, score a free-kick midway through the second half, ride your luck and get men behind the ball until the final whistle, then get back down the motorway with three points to your name.
Lovely stuff.
Most of the players enjoyed a few days off. It can be a bit old school with Paul Ince, but only in a good way.
“I’ve told the players to go and have a few beers and have something to eat with their wives and girlfriends,” the manager said.
“They’ve been immense, the
same 13 players for this first 10 games. It’s understandable they’ve got a bit tired, but now it’s important they rest.”
Usually, if you win six games in 10 you’re a team in form, and want the games to keep coming.
Ince’s take is more pragmatic. “We’ll get players back after the break. Andy Carroll needs to do some running to be ready. Some of the other injured players are getting close to a return.”
Carroll is an interesting case. He comes across friendly, supportive and unfazed with life at Reading.
Assured without being arrogant. That is a difficult note to strike when your CV is as illustrious as Carroll’s.
As a player he makes some great contributions in both penalty boxes, and although no longer able to cover the ground as freely as he
once could, he always appears to be giving everything, and yet…
The stat that is often overlooked and perhaps is most important is simply how many points does your team win when you are on the pitch.
Reading won just five points in two months when Carroll was at the club last season.
Of course, other factors come into play, but Carroll went at a similar rate at West Brom from January until the end of last season.
This time his stint at Reading needs to coincide with a good points tally, not a dramatic decline.
What makes Ince’s record at Reading so impressive is the limitations presented by the transfer embargo.
Last season Reading conceded 87 goals. Most managers would jettison the back four and start again with a new approach and personnel.
Ince has Baba Rahman at left back, Tom Holmes and Tom McIntyre in central defence and Andy Yiadom at right back – the same as last season.
It looks crazy, but with a more reliable keeper behind them in Joe Lumley, and a better midfield in front of them, defending is easier.
It has been a remarkable start. If Reading are as high up the table before the World Cup break after November 12 we really can start to get excited.