Reading's 3-0 Loss to Newcastle Exposes Weaknesses

Watching Reading crumble this afternoon against Newcastle reminded me of how silly Steve Coppell must feel at times. By not strengthening his side last summer with the class of players that were needed to keep the Berkshire club as a competitive side, the Reading side has failed to impress this season and are even tinkering with relegation. Luckily for Coppell and the Royals, the teams beneath Reading are just as bad if not worse.

How a Reading side could succumb to Newcastle and fail to mount few serious challenges against the Tyneside club is beyond me. The Reading side of last season was pure class. This year, the team’s defense have been equivalent to a schoolboy side at times while the attackers offer few options. Of course it didn’t help that Reading let go of attacking midfielder Steve Sidwell last year to Chelsea.

Reading’s Steve Coppell has a lot of work to do this summer to bring in better quality defenders and a new striking partner for Kevin Doyle and/or Dave Kitson. While the Berkshire club can’t compete with the top clubs in the transfer window, they should be able to find talented players. Hopefully Coppell already has his scouts hard at work.