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Wanderers’ injury problems could present an opportunity for ex-Reading favourites Adam Le Fondre and Jem Karacan at the Macron tonight.
Doubts over full-backs Antonee Robinson and Mark Little and Mark Beevers’ suspension could leave Phil Parkinson with no choice but to change systems – potentially opening up gaps in the starting line-up.
Midfielder Karacan has had to be patient, dropped from the squad completely in recent weeks and without a start since the defeat against Aston Villa in September.
Striker Le Fondre has had a calf problem, which side-lined him for a fortnight, but Parkinson admits he is expecting both players – who share nearly 300 Reading appearances between them - to be knocking on his door before the game.
“Every player wants to be involved,” he told The Bolton News. “Obviously those two have got some good history at Reading, so I’d expect them to be keen.”
Parkinson also has a long and distinguished history with the Royals, making more than 350 appearances, and captaining the club to promotion from the Second Division in 2002.
Fans still sing his name at the Madejski Stadium but the Wanderers boss admits the club he faces tomorrow night are far-removed from the one he used to play for.
“I’ve been gone 15 years, so it’s a very different place,” he said.
“I really enjoyed my time at Reading. I played at Elm Park and the Madejski Stadium, watched the owner build the club up really well.
“It has been sold two or three times since then but there are a lot of good things going on still. Back when I was there, Sir John ran it with an English board – but since then there have been Russians, Thais and now a Chinese board, so a lot of changed. It’s the way modern football is.
“Having been in the Premier League a couple of times I think the expectation levels have changed. And they have invested a lot of money down the years to achieve it, and come back down again.
“As they are finding it isn’t that easy to get back to the Premier League. The fans will be expecting them to go from play-off finalists to top two this year.”
Only Fulham have had more possession than Reading this season - and Parkinson believes focus will be key to his team’s success.
“They’ll take chances and roll it out at the back,” he said. “It brought them a lot of success last season, this time around it has been mixed considering the players they have got.
“We will have to be disciplined, we will have to keep our focus if they have spells of possession.”
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Doubts over full-backs Antonee Robinson and Mark Little and Mark Beevers’ suspension could leave Phil Parkinson with no choice but to change systems – potentially opening up gaps in the starting line-up.
Midfielder Karacan has had to be patient, dropped from the squad completely in recent weeks and without a start since the defeat against Aston Villa in September.
Striker Le Fondre has had a calf problem, which side-lined him for a fortnight, but Parkinson admits he is expecting both players – who share nearly 300 Reading appearances between them - to be knocking on his door before the game.
“Every player wants to be involved,” he told The Bolton News. “Obviously those two have got some good history at Reading, so I’d expect them to be keen.”
Parkinson also has a long and distinguished history with the Royals, making more than 350 appearances, and captaining the club to promotion from the Second Division in 2002.
Fans still sing his name at the Madejski Stadium but the Wanderers boss admits the club he faces tomorrow night are far-removed from the one he used to play for.
“I’ve been gone 15 years, so it’s a very different place,” he said.
“I really enjoyed my time at Reading. I played at Elm Park and the Madejski Stadium, watched the owner build the club up really well.
“It has been sold two or three times since then but there are a lot of good things going on still. Back when I was there, Sir John ran it with an English board – but since then there have been Russians, Thais and now a Chinese board, so a lot of changed. It’s the way modern football is.
“Having been in the Premier League a couple of times I think the expectation levels have changed. And they have invested a lot of money down the years to achieve it, and come back down again.
“As they are finding it isn’t that easy to get back to the Premier League. The fans will be expecting them to go from play-off finalists to top two this year.”
Only Fulham have had more possession than Reading this season - and Parkinson believes focus will be key to his team’s success.
“They’ll take chances and roll it out at the back,” he said. “It brought them a lot of success last season, this time around it has been mixed considering the players they have got.
“We will have to be disciplined, we will have to keep our focus if they have spells of possession.”
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