Championship side Reading must be getting paranoid by now - none of their keepers want to be there. To be fair, first choice keeper Adam Federici has recently pledged his future to the Royals, and that may lie behind Federici's back-up keeper Ben Hamer getting itchy feet and wanting to go out on loan somewhere.
Both Bristol Rovers and Yeovil Town have yet to hear back from Reading concerning loan extensions for their pair of keepers in Mikkel Andersen and Alex McCarthy, and Hamer appears to be using their situations as an opportunity to say 'hang on, it's my turn to play games'. Hamer has so far managed two League Cup appearances and a substitute appearance in the FA Cup, meaning that he has had just 21 minutes of competitive football since August.
With Hamer being a local lad, hailing from Chard and going to Holyrood Community School, the irony isn't lost on him that whilst he is sat twiddling his thumbs on Reading's bench, two of his team-mates are within commutable distance of his family home:
"There are two young lads out on loan in the West Country now, so they have probably got the loan move that I always wanted – back near home. I went out and played my games while they sat on the bench, so it is now their turn to go out and get games. We are all there to support Feds (Adam Federici), but I am looking to get some games in. I need to play because I am stiffening up after five months."
Yeovil Town's loan keeper Alex McCarthy plays the final game of his current loan spell against Exeter City this afternoon, and has already said that he wants to stay out on loan with the Glovers. The snag is that Rovers keeper Mikkel Andersen has also told the Bristol Evening Post exactly the same, meaning that Reading are going to have at least one unhappy keeper on their hands by next week:
"I've always said that I don't want to go anywhere just to sit on the bench – I've made that very clear to everyone because it would be a step backwards for me if that was going to happen. The main thing for me is to carry on playing games to get experience, and I hope they will let me do that. I want to stay at Bristol Rovers and play games, and hopefully that is what will happen."
Glovers boss Terry Skiverton doesn't believe there is going to be a problem from Yeovil Town's point of view, and predicts that if Hamer is granted a loan deal, that Andersen is ahead of McCarthy in the pecking order:
"There have been no problems so far and we are still having dialogue with Reading. If there is any movement, it will probably be Mikkel and not Alex that is called back."
Yeovil Town will need an answer from Reading by Monday, with them due to set off for an away match at Tranmere Rovers on the following day. If McCarthy is the unlucky one to have to travel back to Berkshire, then Richard Martin's loan spell at Grays Athletic - due to commence today with a home match against Oxford United - could become one of the shortest loan deals he will experience in his career.
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23 January 2010 : 
