Reading F.C.

Reading F.C.
Full name Reading Football Club
Nickname(s) The Royals
Founded 1871
Ground Madejski Stadium
Reading
(Capacity: 24,224)
Chairman Flag of England John Madejski
Manager Flag of England Steve Coppell
League The Championship
2007–08 Premier League, 18th
(relegated)
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Reading Football Club are an association football club, based in the English town of Reading, in Berkshire. They play in the The Championship in the 2008-09 season after being relegated on the final day of the previous season. When Reading gained promotion to the Premier League, on 25 March 2006, they achieved promotion to the top flight earlier in the season than any other post-war side, and also gained the highest points tally ever attained in any of England's four professional divisions. It was also the first time Reading had reached the top division in their history.[1]

They are nicknamed the Royals, due to Reading's location in the Royal County of Berkshire. The crest design is based on the club colours, a crown which in heraldry represents royal sovereignty for the County of Berkshire and a lion which is an image of Reading's most famous landmark, the Maiwand Lion. Consequently, Reading's mascot is a lion called Kingsley Royal.

Reading supporters are represented by STAR, the Supporters Trust At Reading.

Contents

History

The early years

Reading were formed in 1871. They were originally nicknamed The Biscuitmen after one of the main trades in the town, Huntley & Palmers biscuits, but changed to the Royals in the 1970s, when the company closed their factory[2]. This history is reflected in the name of the club's unofficial fanzine, Hob Nob Anyone?, named after a popular British biscuit.

The club played at Reading Recreation Ground until 1878, before moving on to Reading Cricket Ground (1878–1882), Coley Park (1882–1889) and Caversham Cricket Ground (1889–1896).

The Elm Park years

The switch to professionalism in 1895 resulted in the need for a bigger ground and, to this end, the club moved again, to the purpose-built Elm Park on 5 September 1896. When Reading eventually left Elm Park in 1998, it had a capacity of 15,500.

In 1913 Reading toured Italy and beat Genoa 4-2 and A.C. Milan 5-0, narrowly lost 2-1 to Casale, before beating Italian champions Pro Vercelli 6-0 and the full Italian national team 2-0, prompting the leading sports newspaper Corriere della Sera to write "without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy." Reading were invited back for another tour the following year, but there is no evidence it took place. It is possible it was cancelled due to the imminence of World War I, which claimed the lives of many Reading F.C. players, including Alan Foster, who put a hat-trick past Milan.[3]

Reading were elected to the Third Division of the Football League in 1920, and have spent the majority of the time since then in the third tier of the league, with occasional flirtations with the second and fourth tiers.

Reading's best performance in the FA Cup came in 1926–27 when they lost to eventual winners Cardiff City in the semi-final. The side's moment of cup glory came in 1988 when they won the Simod Cup, beating a number of top flight sides en-route to their Wembley win over Luton Town.

Reading were promoted to the Second Division as champions in 1986 under the management of Ian Branfoot, but were relegated back to the Third Division in 1988. Branfoot left in October 1989, having failed to get the Royals back into the Second Division. His successor, Ian Porterfield, lasted just 18 months before further failures cost him his job. The appointment of Mark McGhee as player-manager in June 1991 saw Reading move forward.

They were crowned champions of the new Division Two in 1994 and, when McGhee moved to Leicester City halfway through the following season, Reading still appeared in with a chance of a second straight promotion. 35-year-old striker Jimmy Quinn was put in charge of the first team alongside midfielder Mick Gooding and guided Reading to runners-up in the final Division One table — only to be denied automatic promotion because of the streamlining of the Premier League, from 22 teams to 20. Reading had eased past Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals and looked to have booked their place in the Premiership after building up a 2-0 lead over Bolton Wanderers by half time in the final. Two late goals from Bolton forced extra time and the match ended 4-3 to Bolton. Quinn and Gooding's contracts were not renewed two years later after Reading had slid into the bottom half of Division One.

Their successor, Terry Bullivant, lasted less than one season before being sacked in March 1998. The Royals finished that season bottom of Division One and slipped into Division Two.

Move to Madejski Stadium

1998 also saw Reading move into the new 24,200-seat Madejski Stadium — named after chairman John Madejski — in the Smallmead area of the town.

Former Celtic boss, Tommy Burns had taken over from Terry Bullivant but lasted just 18 months before being replaced by Alan Pardew who had previously been reserve team manager before being released.

In 2001, Reading became the first football club to register their fans as an official member of their squad, in recognition of the fact that the supporters in the stadium on a match day can sometimes influence the match just as much as a player on the pitch. The idea came from supporter Andy Manson in the summer of 2001 when the number 13 was left vacant by then boss Alan Pardew after the departure of the club's number 13, Keith Scott. Since then the "player" registered with squad number 13, has been named 'Reading Fans'.[4][5].

Reading made it back to Division One in 2002 after finishing runners-up in Division Two. Good form the following season saw them finish fourth in Division One and qualify for the play-offs. Their promotion hopes were ended by a defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals, Reading's third unsuccessful attempt to gain promotion via the play-offs. Pardew acrimoniously moved to West Ham United the following October and was replaced at Reading by Brighton & Hove Albion's Steve Coppell.

In 2004–05, Reading finished seventh in the Football League Championship and just missed out in the play-offs.

Reading reach the Premiership

Main article: Reading F.C. season 2005-06

On 25 March 2006, Reading won promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history. A 1-1 draw away at Leicester, coupled with Watford's defeat against Millwall, and Leeds United only drawing with Stoke City, secured Reading one of the top two automatic promotion places in the Championship. MPs congratulated Reading's successful season with two early day motions shortly after Reading finally secured promotion.[6][7] The following week, they celebrated winning the Championship after defeating Derby County 5-0, while Stoke City held Sheffield Utd 1-1[8]. This sparked a pitch invasion and the players celebrated in front of the fans from the safety of the directors' box. The Club also secured a record number of points for the second tier — 106 — and fell only one short of scoring 100 goals. Reading lost only two games during the season.[9]

First Premier League season - 2006–07

Main article: Reading F.C. season 2006-07

The 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first appearance in the top flight of English football. In the club's first Premiership game, Reading found themselves down 2-0 inside the first twenty minutes to Middlesbrough, but in a stunning turnaround the Royals netted home their first Premiership goals and won 3-2. Striker Dave Kitson became the first player to score for Reading in the top flight of football.[10] While it is commonplace for teams who get promoted to the Premiership to experience a one-and-done season before being relegated, Reading distanced themselves from that curse (rather like fellow promoted clubs in the past, e.g. Wigan Athletic and Portsmouth), scoring against every team in the division bar Watford.

Reading notched up some impressive results during the early stages of the season, including draws against Manchester United and Chelsea and a narrow 1-0 home defeat to defending champions Chelsea, leading many commentators to change their opinion of the Premiership's newest member.[11][12]

Perhaps one of the highlights of the season came on 1 January 2007, when Reading beat West Ham United 6-0.[13] It represents the club's first 'double' in the top flight, as Reading had won at Upton Park 1-0 previously in the season. The 2-0 victory over Manchester City on 3 February 2007[14] took Reading to 40 points in the Premiership, the total seen by some as that required to avoid relegation. After that impressive start to 2007, the Royals recorded three defeats in quick succession to Middlesbrough, to Manchester United in an FA Cup Fifth Round replay, and to Arsenal. John Oster scored his first Premiership goal for the club against Middlesbrough, and his first goal in the top flight since scoring for Everton in the club's 4-2 win over Barnsley in September 1997. The FA Cup replay against Manchester United was notable in that Reading contrived to concede three goals in the opening six minutes of the game. The final score was 3-2 to Manchester United.[15] Reading's final game of the season was an away fixture to Blackburn Rovers, which ended 3-3 from which Reading came from behind three times, with goals from Seol Ki-Hyeon, Kevin Doyle and Brynjar Gunnarsson.[16] The result was not enough for qualification for the UEFA Cup for the 2006–07 season as it meant that Reading finished the season in eighth place with 55 points. Reading also turned down the chance to play in the Intertoto Cup meaning it was passed down to Portsmouth, who also rejected it, passing it to Blackburn who accepted the offer. The club's top scorer in the league was Kevin Doyle with 13 goals, while top scorer overall was Leroy Lita with 14.

Second Premier League Season - 2007–08

Main article: Reading F.C. season 2007-08

In the run up to their second season in the Premier League, Reading took part in the 2007 Peace Cup in South Korea. After defeat to River Plate and victories over Lyon and Shimizu S-Pulse, Reading failed to qualify for the final on goal difference[17].

The season began in earnest on 12 August 2007, with an away fixture against champions Manchester United, in which the match ended in a scoreless draw, with substitute Dave Kitson being sent off after less than a minute for a challenge on Patrice Evra. On 15 August 2007 Reading's first home game of the season finished with a 1-2 defeat to Chelsea. Reading's goal scorer was Andre Bikey, slotting home, after Peter Cech dropped the ball from a cross.

On 29 September 2007, Reading were beaten by Portsmouth 7-4 in a thrilling game, with goals from Hermann Hreidarsson, a own goal from Ivar Ingimarsson, Niko Kranjcar, Sulley Muntari and a Benjani hat trick for Portsmouth and for Reading; Dave Kitson, Stephen Hunt,[18] Nicky Shorey and a Sol Campbell own goal. This result also holds the Premiership record for the highest aggregate score of 11 goals in one game.

On 8 December 2007, Reading defeated Liverpool 3-1 at home, notching their first win ever against one of the "Big Four" English clubs (Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United). The goals were scored by Stephen Hunt, Kevin Doyle and James Harper.

However, Reading were unable to keep up this form throughout the season, and entered May in 17th place - just one point and one place clear of relegation with 3 games to go.

Despite winning against Derby in their final match of the season by four goals to nil, Reading were unable to affect their relegation to The Championship. Fulham defeated Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park to escape relegation.

Return to the Championship - 2008–09

Main article: Reading F.C. season 2008-09

Records

Reading hold the English league record for the longest winning sequence at the start of a season with 13 victories in succession at the beginning of season 1985–86.

In 1979, Reading goalkeeper Steve Death went 1103 minutes without conceding a goal, also an English league record.

They also hold the embarrassing honour of having experienced more FA Cup defeats than any other team. This is because Reading are the oldest club still competing in the competition never to have won the Cup. Notts County entered the competition at the same time as Reading, in 1877–78. However, because County won the cup in 1894 (and so were unbeaten in that season), they have suffered one fewer defeat in the competition than Reading. In the year that County won the Cup, Reading suffered their worst ever defeat, losing 18-0 to Preston North End, at least partly because the Preston players used studs on their quagmire of a pitch.

During their successful 2005–06 Premiership promotion campaign, Reading broke another record when they went 33 matches unbeaten, the longest in the history of England's second tier, from 9 August 2005 until they lost to Luton Town on 17 February 2006. In the same season, Reading broke Sunderland's record for most points in a season in English football history, finishing with 106 points, and breaking the previous record by a single point.[19] Reading narrowly failed to become the first team to finish a season with both 100 goals and 100 points, but fell short by one goal, scoring "only" 99 times.[20]

Reading staked its claim to one of English football's more unlikely records in the FA Cup competition of its fledgling Premiership campaign. Having reached the 5th round of the competition for the first time in nearly a decade, Reading secured a creditable 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford, only to concede three goals in the first 5 minutes and 41 seconds of the replay, eventually losing the game 3-2. The Independent suggests that this represents the worst ever start to a game by a team in English football,[21] surpassing the three goals conceded by Derby County in the first nine minutes of their home Premiership match with Leicester City in 1997–98.

Club records

National records

Current squad

As of 24 November 2008.[24]
No. Position Player
1 Flag of the United States GK Marcus Hahnemann
2 Flag of Scotland DF Graeme Murty (captain)
3 Flag of Scotland DF Chris Armstrong
4 Flag of Mali MF Kalifa Cissé
6 Flag of Iceland MF Brynjar Gunnarsson
7 Flag of the Czech Republic MF Marek Matějovský
9 Flag of Ireland FW Kevin Doyle
10 Flag of Ireland MF Stephen Hunt
11 Flag of Ireland FW Noel Hunt
12 Flag of Ireland FW Dave Mooney
14 Flag of Mali MF Jimmy Kébé
15 Flag of England MF James Harper (vice captain)
16 Flag of Iceland DF Ívar Ingimarsson
17 Flag of the United States MF Bobby Convey
18 Flag of Nigeria DF Sam Sodje
19 Flag of England FW Hal Robson-Kanu
No. Position Player
21 Flag of Turkey MF Jem Karacan
22 Flag of England DF Liam Rosenior
23 Flag of Cameroon DF André Bikey
24 Flag of Ireland FW Shane Long
27 Flag of England MF James Henry
28 Flag of England FW Michail Antonio
29 Flag of England DF Michael Duberry
30 Flag of Australia MF Oliver Bozanic
32 Flag of Australia GK Adam Federici
33 Flag of England DF Scott Golbourne
34 Flag of Iceland MF Gylfi Sigurðsson
36 Flag of Denmark GK Mikkel Andersen
37 Flag of Iceland FW Viktor Illugason
40 Flag of England DF Tom Hateley
42 Flag of Ireland DF Julian Kelly
49 Flag of England GK Alex McCarthy

Players out on loan

No. Position Player
8 Flag of England FW Leroy Lita (at Norwich City)
20 Flag of Côte d'Ivoire MF Emerse Faé (at Nice)
25 Flag of Ireland DF Alan Bennett (at Brentford until January 2009)
26 Flag of Scotland DF Alex Pearce (at Southampton until January 2009)
35 Flag of Wales FW Simon Church (at Wycombe Wanderers until December 2008)
38 Flag of Ireland MF Scott Davies (at Aldershot Town until the end of the 2008–09 season)
39 Flag of England FW Nicholas Bignall (at Northampton Town until December 2008)
41 Flag of England GK Ben Hamer (at Brentford until the end of the 2008–09 season)
50 Flag of England FW Mitchell Bryant (at Basingstoke Town)
43 Flag of England DF Daniel Spence (at Woking)

Club officials

Board of Directors & Senior club staff

Management team

Honours and Best Finishes

2007, 8th Place (First Season Ever in Top Division)
2006, runners-up 1995
1988
1994, runners-up 2002
1926, 1986, runners-up 1932, 1935, 1949, 1952
1979
1940-41
1938
1927
1996, 1998

Managerial honours

Notable former players

Managerial history

Manager name From To
Steve Coppell 9 October 2003 present
Kevin Dillon* 10 September 2003 9 October 2003
Alan Pardew 16 September 1999 9 September 2003
Tommy Burns 25 March 1998 16 September 1999
Alan Pardew* 18 March 1998 25 March 1998
Terry Bullivant 30 June 1997 18 March 1998
Jimmy Quinn & Mick Gooding 5 January 1995 9 May 1997
Jimmy Quinn, Mick Gooding,
Adrian Williams, & Jeff Hopkins*		 15 December 1994 4 January 1995
Mark McGhee 10 May 1991 14 December 1994
John Haselden* 30 April 1991 10 May 1991
Eddie Niedzwicki* 1 April 1991 30 April 1991
Ian Porterfield 14 November 1989 1 April 1991
Lew Chatterley* 23 October 1989 14 November 1989
Ian Branfoot 31 January 1984 23 October 1989
Maurice Evans 26 February 1977 31 January 1984
Charlie Hurley 13 January 1972 26 February 1977
Jimmy Wallbanks* 1 October 1971 13 January 1972
Jack Mansell 1 April 1969 1 October 1971
Ray Henderson* 1 February 1969 1 April 1969
Roy Bentley 1 January 1963 1 February 1969
Harry Johnston 1 November 1955 1 January 1963
Fred May & James Carter* 1 October 1955 1 November 1955
Arthur Smith 1 June 1952 1 October 1955
Ted Drake 1 June 1947 1 June 1952
Joe Edelston 13 April 1939 1 June 1947
Johnny Cochrane 1 March 1939 13 April 1939
Billy Butler 1 August 1935 1 March 1939
Joe Smith 1 June 1931 1 August 1935
Angus Wylie 1 July 1926 1 June 1931
Harold Bray 1 October 1925 1 June 1926
Arthur Chadwick 1 January 1923 1 October 1925
The Board* 11 May 1922 1 January 1923
Jack Smith 23 December 1920 11 May 1922
Harry Marshall 23 February 1920 23 December 1920

* Caretaker manager(s)

Rivalry

Reading's main current local rivalries are with Oxford United and Swindon Town. When the three teams had shared a division, their rivalry was referred to as the "Didcot Triangle".[27] However, nowadays the rivalry between Oxford and Swindon is far stronger than between either of the two and Reading due to them both spending most of the last 6-7 years in the lower divisions than Reading[1].

However, before going out of business in 1992, Aldershot F.C. were Reading's biggest rivals[2][3]. There was a strong rift between the two sets of fans, with riots between fans occurring on several occasions.

Famous supporters

There are few famous confirmed supporters of Reading. However, notable inclusions are:

Reading Women

Reading began their association with women's football when it affiliated with Reading Royals LFC (previously Twyford Comets) in 1988. In May 2006, Reading ended this affiliation and started their own women's team, Reading FC Women.[30] In their very first season they achieved a Southern Region Women's Football League and Cup double[31] and were promoted to the South West Combination Women's Football League. They followed this with an unbeaten 2007/8 League season to gain promotion to the Premier League Northern Division.

References

  1. ↑ "Leicester 1-1 Reading. They gained 106 points, a record, beating Sunderland's previous record.", BBC Sport (2006-03-25). Retrieved on 2006-05-04. 
  2. ↑ "The History of Reading Football Club", readingfc.co.uk. 
  3. ↑ "The Reading FC Tour of Italy 1913" (November 2002). Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  4. ↑ "Loyal Royals' number is up!", readingfc.co.uk (2001-08-06). Retrieved on 2007-01-26. 
  5. ↑ "Fans given thumbs up for Number 13", readingfc.co.uk (2001-08-09). Retrieved on 2007-01-26. 
  6. ↑ "Early Day Motion 1902" (2006-03-27). Retrieved on 2006-05-04.
  7. ↑ "Early Day Motion 1911" (2006-03-28). Retrieved on 2006-05-04.
  8. ↑ "Reading 5-0 Derby", BBC Sport (2006-04-01). Retrieved on 2006-05-04. 
  9. ↑ "Championship Table 2005-06". football365 (2006-07-11). Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
  10. ↑ "Reading 3-2 Middlesbrough", BBC Sport (2006-08-19). Retrieved on 2006-08-22. 
  11. ↑ Paul Wilson (2006-08-13). "This way to Euro glory", The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-12-23. 
  12. ↑ Paul Wilson (2006-10-08). "A Royals apology, but don't wait to see what's around the corner", The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-12-23. 
  13. ↑ "Reading 6-0 West Ham", BBC Sport (2007-01-01). Retrieved on 2007-02-13. 
  14. ↑ "Man City 0-2 Reading", BBC Sport (2007-02-03). Retrieved on 2007-02-13. 
  15. ↑ "Reading 2-3 Man Utd", BBC Sport (2007-02-27). Retrieved on 2007-05-14. 
  16. ↑ "Blackburn 3-3 Reading", BBC Sport (2007-05-13). Retrieved on 2007-05-14. 
  17. ↑ "Peace Cup diary", BBC Berkshire (2007-07-19). Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  18. ↑ "Rosenior is given Pompey goal", readingfc.co.uk (2007-10-30). Retrieved on 2007-12-12. 
  19. ↑ "Reading 2-1 QPR", BBC Sport (2006-04-30). Retrieved on 2006-05-04. 
  20. ↑ "We can be ton up kings - Doyle", getreading.co.uk (2006-04-18). Retrieved on 2006-05-04. 
  21. ↑ "'It is not often there is honour in defeat' says proud Coppell", The Independent (2007-02-28). Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  22. ↑ "Fae joins for club record fee" (2007-08-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-03. 
  23. ↑ "Royals Legends - Steve Death". readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2006-05-04.
  24. ↑ "Player Profiles". Reading FC. Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
  25. ↑ http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/sub/TVNews/0,,10306~1417504,00.html
  26. ↑ Downs, David (2000). Reading Football Club: 100 Greats. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. pp. 27. ISBN 075242081X. 
  27. ↑ "Didcot Triangle/Wallingford Quadrangle". Retrieved on 2007-02-22.
  28. ↑ "Picadilly Radio Interview". Retrieved on 2007-03-02. 
  29. ↑ "Only two Rs for Arlott - writing and Reading", The Guardian (2006-03-28). Retrieved on 2007-03-02. 
  30. ↑ "Background of our women's team". readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  31. ↑ "Women secure league & cup double", readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. 

External links

Reading FC
The Club
Madejski Stadium | Elm Park
2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09

Barnsley | Birmingham City | Blackpool | Bristol City | Burnley | Cardiff City | Charlton Athletic | Coventry City | Crystal Palace | Derby County | Doncaster Rovers | Ipswich Town | Norwich City | Nottingham Forest | Plymouth Argyle | Preston North End | Queens Park Rangers | Reading | Sheffield United | Sheffield Wednesday | Southampton | Swansea City | Watford | Wolverhampton Wanderers