Tyler Blackett endured a miserable loan spell at Celtic last season – but it’s not going much better at Reading.
Watching Reading’s defence against Norwich City on Saturday was akin to a jellyfish attempting to conquer a flight of stairs. From miscued clearances to ill-timed slips, perhaps the worst indictment of The Royals’ humiliating display is that only one of Norwich’s seven goals, Alex Pritchard’s volleyed third, did not contain at least one calamitous mistake.
And although it seems a little unfair to single out one player as the biggest culprit in such a dreadful team performance, that Tyler Blackett was subbed off on the hour with Reading 6-0 down speaks volumes.
The 24-year-old endured a torrid afternoon at Carrow Road, conceding six inside the first-half as Reading resembled relegation certainties rather than genuine play-off hopefuls.
It’s hard to believe, therefore, that Blackett lifted a league title last season. Yet, the former Manchester United youngster did little during a season long loan spell at Celtic to convince the club to turn his deal into a permanent one.
Blackett was only trusted with three league appearances under former Hoops manager Ronny Deila with his error-strewn performances meaning he was quickly cast out of the first-team reckoning.
Therefore, perhaps alarm bells should have been ringing when Reading offered him a three-year deal in the summer. If the reaction of supporters is anything to go by, The Royals may regret offering Blackett a lifeline.
Think our left side looks awful, Blackett can’t defend. And grabban is a shit winger. Hope we don’t get exposed #readingfc
— Sam (@_Ludicolo) April 8, 2017
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