Little to cause Big Changes?

You might think that it's a bit strange to start a blog on Reading Football Club in the middle of June. But Friday's news that Glen Little has joined Portsmouth looks like it'll be the catalyst for a number of changes at the Madejski Stadium, as the club and its fans embark on a new era.

It seems that the time for sentimentality is over. That Championship side who will live long in the memory of every Royals fan is starting to be broken up, and when the new season kicks off at Nottingham Forest in two months time, very little could be left.

However much we didn't like to admit it at the time, Steve Sidwell's move to Chelsea ripped the heart from the Reading side, and now with Little on his way, and Shorey, Kitson, Harper, Hunt and Doyle all expected to follow, the rest of the body is slowly but surely decapitating as well.

Little has been the first player that I've genuinely been sad to see go since Michael Gilkes left in 1997. His close control and ability to beat players is genuinely up there with the best, whilst his crossing and finishing isn't bad either. If this guy had pace, he would have been in the Premiership years ago.

But that's why, as Reading fans, we loved him. He felt like our little secret. We couldn't believe that each week we'd turn up and watch Little turn left-backs inside out, yet still no Premiership club would take a gamble on him. When we finally got to the 'promised land' ourselves, Little continued to make fools of defenders, many of whom were full internationals, and still a move never looked on the horizon.

So considering this player has now been injured for an entire year, and has not had a stage to showcase his talents, you'd be forgiven to be at least a little shocked that a transfer came at this time. You cannot begrudge Little for the move - he's 32 years old and deserves to have at least another season at the top - and despite a little niggle inside suggesting that he may have shown some loyalty to the club that paid his wages and treatment whilst out injured for all of last season, the only emotion any real Reading fan can be having at this moment in time is one of sheer disappointment.

With Little in the team for next season, anything seemed possible. The thought of him linking up with Matejovsky was practically orgasmic, defenders wouldn't have stood a chance. Now he's departed we're left with a reality check. A month ago, a midfield of Little-Matejovsky-Harper-Convey would have destroyed the Championship. Now it looks possible that only Convey will remain.

Questions must be asked of the board over the delaying of Little's contract offer. The issue of age and whether he'd be the same after injury cannot wash, it was not as if pace or stamina were key assets in Little's game anyway, and he would surely have been worth another year. His loss as a character in the dressing room may be just as bad, if others see Little being offered another chance at the Premiership they'll be wondering what reason they have in staying either. The remaining players have also lost a friend, someone who was always there to break the tension. It's no coincidence that Coppell took Little to the final few away games, his contribution to the once exceptional 'team ethic' could not be underestimated.

There seemed to be two possible scenarios for next season. The first was to actually keep hold of most of the original squad, hoping that the talents available would actually be put to good use this year. Many underperformed last season and it was the mentallity and ideas rather than the talent that was lacking on a lot of occassions. We'd all accept losing Hunt and Shorey, but if we could have keep the rest of the squad together, Doyle, Kitson, Matejovsky, Little et al, and compliment them with a sprinkling of signings, we'd have enough skill to take us straight back up.

Scenario 2 was seeing a complete overhaul. Out would go not only Shorey and Hunt, but Harper, Lita, Sonko and the players mentioned above as well. More than just the odd couple of signings would have to be made, and it would be a new look Reading side taking to the field at the City Ground on August 10th instead.

And with Little going, it seems that the latter option is now the most likely. It could be a far busier summer than we at Reading are usually used to, and certainly more important than ever before. The perfect time to start a blog then......