Noel Hunt feature in today's Times

[CMRoyal]

Apologies if already posted elsewhere.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 445861.ece

Think Hunt, think Reading, and the inevitable memory resurfaces. Stephen Hunt, the straggly-haired Reading winger, collides with Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper, at the Madejski Stadium on October 14, 2006. Cech suffers a fractured skull and, after a frantic hospital dash, survives.
All hell, though, has broken loose. José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager at the time, claims that Hunt did it deliberately, later berates the South Central Ambulance Service for its alleged tardy response and spouts righteousness from every pore. The “Special One” has yet to apologise.
More than two years on, there is another Hunt, Noel, on the Berkshire block and his impact, if less dramatic than his elder brother, is also grabbing headlines. He has scored 11 goals since joining from Dundee United last summer to help to lift Reading to second in the Coca-Cola Championship and a possible swift return to the Barclays Premier League.
Stephen, 27, is a winger: nippy, tricky, living on the edge of explosion or implosion. Noel, a year younger, is a striker: industrious, spring-heeled, a calmer character but with that same burning desire to win. Each complements the other, each looks out for the other, a bond formed when growing up in the village of Clonea Power in the Co Waterford countryside.
“Our next-door neighbour was a mile away,” Noel said. “That’s why me and Stephen played so much together when we were younger. There was no one else around. He used to kill me, batter me, we used to fight over everything, every day. We’d patch it up but then we’d start again. Over football, Gaelic football, hurling, whatever we were playing.
“But if anyone came near me, Stephen would be straight in there, backing me up. They were good times, great.
“On the pitch now, I know that Stephen can look after himself, but I always want to be right there behind him. It’s a special thing to have.”
A key element in Reading’s success is the Irish factor. Their four-pronged contingent, which includes Kevin Doyle, Noel’s strike partner, and Shane Long, cost a combined total of only £678,000, yet has contributed 37 of the 62 goals the team have scored this season. The families are intertwined, too: Stephen is married to Doyle’s cousin, Joanne.
After the 3-1 home victory over Burnley in October, Noel needed home help from Long, his rival for the forward slot alongside Doyle. Noel had left the pitch concussed after a clash of heads and was not sure of his whereabouts.
“Shane took me to his house because I couldn’t remember anything,” Noel said. “Every two minutes, my head seemed to be resetting and I kept asking him the same questions. So he ended up putting the answers in big writing on a hankie. When I asked again, he just pointed at the hankie and laughed. He’s a lovely guy.”
Mourinho? Perhaps not so lovely. Noel remembers the Cech incident with clarity. “I’ve spoken about it with Stephen loads of times and told him not to leave it on his conscience,” Noel said. “He tried to stop, he lost his footing. Accidents happen.
“Some of the quotes from Mourinho, saying that he should never play again, were ridiculous. In the heat of the moment, you say stupid things. I’m sure Mourinho regrets it now. But Stephen has moved on. We all have.”

[rfcjoe]

ok'ish read.

[Gordons Cumming]

“Shane........................ He’s a lovely guy.”

The main reason Lita went on loan and he didn't.

IMHO

[Baines]

Slow news day sees Russell Kempson churn out another couple of hundred words about Reading.

Interesting point though about SHunt saying he lost his footing. I don't think he's ever said that directly.

[Muskrat]

Slow news day sees Russell Kempson churn out another couple of hundred words about Reading.

Interesting point though about SHunt saying he lost his footing. I don't think he's ever said that directly.

He still hasn't. That quote was from Noel.

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

Maybe I'm just being more hopeful on one of my less cynical days, but I read in to that that the Brothers Hunt rather like being at the same club together.

I must go and lay down.

[Baines]

Slow news day sees Russell Kempson churn out another couple of hundred words about Reading.

Interesting point though about SHunt saying he lost his footing. I don't think he's ever said that directly.

He still hasn't. That quote was from Noel.

No shit. Hence "I don't think he's ever said that directly", rather than "I don't think he's ever said that directly before".

[CMRoyal]

Slow news day sees Russell Kempson churn out another couple of hundred words about Reading.

Slow news day? The Monday after the FA Cup 3rd Round and with the January transfer window open? You're such a cynic.

Anyway, just thought it would be of interest - people can take or leave it, I'm not looking for judgments on its journalistic worth.

[Mad Dog's Ghost]

Cheers for posting that.

Good read as ever from Kempson. Nice to read something positive in the national press for a change.

[chandog]

Cheers for posting that.

Good read as ever from Kempson. Nice to read something positive in the national press for a change.

agreed

[Derbyshire Royal]

Cheers for posting that.

Good read as ever from Kempson. Nice to read something positive in the national press for a change.

agreed

+1

Nice positivity after all Holts drivel

[Royal Rother]

Nice to see you're on our side Eileen.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

It seems to be more focused on Stephen rather than Noel in my opinion.

[TFF]

Slow news day sees Russell Kempson churn out another couple of hundred words about Reading.

Interesting point though about SHunt saying he lost his footing. I don't think he's ever said that directly.

It was a penalty. Cech tripped him.

We could've been in Europe

[Son of Len]

Apologies if already posted elsewhere.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 445861.ece

Stephen, 27, is a winger: nippy, tricky, living on the edge of explosion or implosion. Noel, a year younger, is a striker: industrious, spring-heeled, a calmer character but with that same burning desire to win.

Apt descriptions of the Hunt Bros.

[SCIAG]

Slow news day sees Russell Kempson churn out another couple of hundred words about Reading.

Interesting point though about SHunt saying he lost his footing. I don't think he's ever said that directly.

It was a penalty. Cech tripped him.

We could've been in Europe

If we'd have applied for the Intertoto Cup, we would have got in as eighth placed Premier League team.

[RG1 Export]

Is the Hunt/Cech clash really all we're remembered for in our time in the Prem?

[Ian Royal]

Is the Hunt/Cech clash really all we're remembered for in our time in the Prem?

No

[Woodcote Royal]

Nice read, thanks.

I, too, would not totally dismiss the Irish bond within the club being a good omen as the current transfer window gets under way........................at least in persuading potential leavers that it might be worth waiting until the end of the season.

[SLAMMED]

Stephen is married to Doyle’s cousin, Joanne.
Shirley he wont leave!