Continuing our series of articles of gaining a perspective from a fan of the club we have bought a player from, Esther Madden from STAR (Supporters Trust At Reading) gives her views on what City fans can look forward to from Matt Mills.
“Matt Mills is a player that divides opinion. There is no doubt that he is a good player. He’s a commanding centre-back and a good header of the ball. He’s also a little quicker than the rest of our defence so can get forward and be a goal threat as well as doing his defensive duties and covering for others.
His best game – for me anyway – was when we played against you at your stadium where he not only scored when the rest of the team seemed unable to, but then managed to get back and save a goal by covering for Federici and heading it off the line.
He raises his game for the big ones. His goal against Everton in the FA Cup was one to savour and he was probably the member of the team who seemed least overawed in the play-offs and at Wembley last season. That’s the best side of Matt Mills; ambitious, leading from the front, working his socks off to help win a game…..
The bad side of Matt Mills is his temperament. As captain, his form of motivation to his team-mates is to blame them and yell in their faces – he’s not averse to having a go at the officials either. Get him wound up and he can be a red card waiting to happen not just with his mouth, but also some of his last-minute, lunging tackles.
He has a tendency to hoof the ball aimlessly up the field in the hope someone can get on the end of it. Whether he’s been told to do that or not, it’s something which exasperates the fans and once led Mills to give the whole East Stand the finger as a collective sigh passed across us at yet another ball ending up out of play. This has led to the gesture being called a “Millsy” down here.
Off the pitch, one thing that will definitely be missed here now he’s gone is his girlfriend, Emma Rigby. You will probably spot her in amongst the regular fans at his games. She’s instantly recognisable because she is absolutely stunning!”
If you would like to find out more about the current activity STAR, their website is available here http://star-reading.org