Will Reading play the Dutch way against the Cherries?

Japp Stam was appointed Reading manager in June and the Dutchman knows all about how to impose an Ajax style on the field but will his players at the Madejski be capable of it? The ex-Man Utd player has pedigree and experience as player but he will be a novice in the Championship so when his team take on the Cherries in pre-season we could see a very experimental side lined up against Eddie Howe's men.

The Dutch revolution has not been slow to start at Reading. Over the summer they have signed Roy Bereens who had been playing in Germany with Herthan Berlin and cost the Royals £0.83m. But it won't all be Dutch, Finnish keeper Anssi Jakkola is the new shot stopper and midfielder John Swift has signed from Chelsea - an England U21 international. Joseph Mendes has also been raided from the French side Le Harve and he should know AFCB's Lys Mousset pretty well having played together as a strike force.

AFCB had a nervy last five minutes when
they last played at the Madejski - remember it well, do you?

Mixing these players and adapting their style while taking on the never ending Championship season is going to be a very hard job for Japp Stam. He has the knowledge though of what is needed to be a champion and if he can get this Reading side to be as mean as he was in giving teams chances to score then Reading could be the surprise package this season in the Championship. They probably won't have much chance to play total football but if they start winning they won't care as this has to be the most difficult season to be in the Championship looking at the teams now in this division.

AFCB have been linked heavily with Oliver Norwood but no bid has yet been made according to the press. He is a good age at 25 to be considering the move up to the Premier League but I imagine Japp Stam has been keen to put an arm around him to stay for at least another year at Reading.

I'll certainly enjoy singing a few rounds of
Yann Kermorgant, Yann Kermorgant, YANN KERMORGANT!

The player the AFCB fans will most want to see though is Yann Kermorgant and it will be terrific if he gets to run out at some time against the current Bournemouth side - he'll get a tremendous reception. The latest news though is that he is fighting a back injury and may miss the game. I see in the Bournemouth Echo today that there is a great interview with Yann - well worth a read. His disappointment in not playing well against Aston Vila was shared by the fans but at least we know why he found it so hard in that first Premier League game. Yann is still an all time favourite of many AFCB and Charlton fans - not a bad thing to have on your CV and I expect he is becoming a hero at Reading too.