Oh Jimmy, You're So Fine

Anthony Smith • Published 18 Feb 2010 15:00 Comments 1 Comment

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BRIAN McDermott thinks Jimmy Kebe "came of age" at Selhurst Park.

Kebe gave a masterclass in wing play to inspire Royals to a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace in a relegation six-pointer.

The 26-year-old made it two in two games and four for the season with an excellent finish nine minutes from time.

Simon Church also struck a superb double as Reading made it four wins in a row to climb up to 18th in the Championship table.

Royals fans were singing Kebe's name at the final whistle but he has not always enjoyed a cosy relationship with them.

Only this week McDermott appealed to supporters to lay off his much-maligned wingman who has often been jeered in games, with his workrate firmly under the spotlight.

But on Tuesday night he looked every bit a top Premier League player with some outstanding forward play allied to plenty of hard work and graft.

He performance certainly left his manager gushing: "I thought Jimmy was outstanding," beamed McDermott. "He might have come of age on the night.

"I spoke to him afterwards and told him 'that's what English football is all about - and that performance is what you're all about.'

"The first time I saw him play was on a Friday night for Boulogne, it was pouring with rain in December. And he was outstanding.

"And that was one of the reasons we took him to our club. We've seen glimpses of Jimmy - but I thought we saw it for 90 minutes."

However, McDermott also believes Kebe needs support not criticism from the crowd.

At Selhurst Park, McDermott had to virtually drag the inherently shy winger over to the visiting fans so they could show their appreciation.

Kebe looked a little embarrassed, but even he must be incredibly proud of the week he is having.

On Saturday he scored the fasted goal in the history of the FA Cup proper rounds by netting after a staggering 9.7 seconds in the 2-2 draw with West Brom.

Now McDermott wants people to cut Kebe some slack: "Jimmy needs the crowd as well," he explained. "He's the type of player who really needs the crowd behind him and that's very, very important.

"I remember playing in that wide position for seven or eight years at Arsenal. When I played I did well because the crowd were really with me all the time.

"But when I went to Oxford they weren't and I found it difficult. That's the nature of that position."

Kebe's work-rate is one of the biggest gripes supporters have, but McDermott argues he is not a lazy player.

"Your wide players are trying make things happen, trying to make a difference," he explained. "That's why it's so important the crowd are with these guys.

"Sometimes it won't go right for them and they will lose the ball just by nature of the fact they are trying to create."

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Carl Whistler
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Feb 18, 19:22
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Good article Anthony.

We all know that Kebe shows moments of brilliance; trouble has been he frequently put in performances at the other end of the scale. He also tends to cut inside, dragging defenders the wrong way (from our perspective). The result is few crosses into the box to supply the Strikers. That said his performance against Plymouth the other day was a good one and since then he has gone on to score goals in both subsequent games.

Maybe Kebe needs a little more positive feedback from the fans and then maybe we'll get more of the brilliance from him. McDermott believes in him; so I for one will be cheering him on next game.

URZ BBB

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Feb 23, 13:24
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