Sidwell to skipper Royals in absence of Murty

By Mark Sugar
December 7 2004

Royals midfielder Steve Sidwell will skipper the team in the absence of Greame Murty who is injured at the moment.The Royals travel to the Walkers Stadium on Saturday to face fellow promotion chasers Leicester City.

SIDWELL TO SKIPPER ROYALS

In the absence of Graeme Murty on Saturday, Reading midfield sensation Steve Sidwell is to captain the Royals against Leicester at the Walkers Stadium on Saturday.

Sidwell has become one of the hottest prospects in the Championship and has became an instant fans favourite since switching from Premiership champions Arsenal in January 2003.

The captaincy goes to Steve after Murty's injury sustained in Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Wolves ruled him out for at least 3 weeks.

And Sidwell will become the youngest ever player to captain the Royals, beating Steve Hetzke record of 22 years old and 2 months. Sidwell turns 22 next Tuesday.

It's a further sign of how important Sidwell is to the future of this club. The former England U21 midfielder has been linked to a number of big clubs in the past. These include Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic, Rangers and Celtic. It was only in the summer when Sidwell put pen to paper on a new deal ending speculation he was to leave.

Other contenders for the role were Ivar Ingimarsson and James Harper.

Congratulations to Steve!