| Full name | Reading Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Royals | ||
| Founded | 1871 | ||
| Ground | Madejski Stadium Reading (Capacity: 24,161[1]) |
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| Chairman | John Madejski | ||
| Manager | Brian McDermott | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2010–11 | The Championship, 5th | ||
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| Current season | |||
Reading Football Club ( /ˈrɛdɪŋ/) is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who play in the Championship. Formed in 1871, the club is one of the oldest teams in England, but did not join the Football League until 1920, and never played in the top tier of English football until the 2006–07 season. The club holds the record for the number of successive league wins at the start of a season (13 wins at the start of the 1985–86 Third Division campaign) and also the record for the number of points gained in a professional league season (106 points in the 2005–06 Football League Championship campaign). Reading finished champions of their division on both of these occasions.
Since 1998 they have played at the Madejski Stadium on the outskirts of Reading which is named after the club's chairman Sir John Madejski. Prior to this they played at Elm Park for 102 years. They are nicknamed The Royals, due to Reading's location in the Royal County of Berkshire, though they were previously known as The Biscuitmen, due to the town's association with Huntley & Palmers. The crest design is based on the club colours, blue and white, a crown representing royal sovereignty for the County of Berkshire and an image of Reading's most famous landmark, the Maiwand Lion.
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Reading F.C. were formed on 25 December 1871 by founder Joseph Edward Sydenham[2]. 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.[3] This history is reflected in the name of the club's unofficial fanzine, Hob Nob Anyone?, named after a popular British biscuit.
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.[4]
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 and fourth tiers of the league, with occasional flirtations with the second tier.
Reading's best performance in the FA Cup came in 1926–27 when they lost to eventual winners Cardiff City at Wolverhampton in the semi-final. In round five, the attendance record for Elm Park was set, as 33,042 people watched Reading's 1–0 victory over Brentford.
Reading lost their place in Division Two in May 1931, and remained in Division Three (South) until the outbreak of World War II. The club won the Southern Section Cup, beating Bristol City in the two-legged final in 1938, and when taking part in the regional London War League and Cup competitions, gained another honour by beating Brentford in the London War Cup Final of 1941 by 3–2 at Stamford Bridge.
When League football resumed after the war, Reading quickly came to prominence once again. The club's record victory, 10–2 versus Crystal Palace, was recorded in September 1946, and Reading twice finished runners-up in the Third (South), in 1948–49 and 1951–52, but they were denied a return to Division Two as only the champions were promoted.[5]
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.
Reading F.C. had a notorious firm called The Reading Generals in the 80's and it is still running today, running riot wherever they go. The name is originated from The Reading General station where they used to take trains to away matches. The firm used to meet before matches and confront the travelling away fans at The Reading General where fights took place. They built up a mean reputation and were feared largely by the Swindon Active Service (SAS) of Swindon Town F.C., the Queens Park Rangers F.C. Bushbabies and the South Midlands Hit Squad of Oxford United F.C..
The appointment of Mark McGhee as player-manager, shortly after the takeover by John Madejski, 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 were in contention for a second successive 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 Premier League 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.
1998 also saw Reading move into the new 24,200 all-seater Madejski Stadium, named after chairman, John Madejski. 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, giving the "player" registered with squad number 13 as 'Reading Fans'.[6][7]
Reading returned to Division One for 2002–03 after finishing runners-up in Division Two. The following season they finished fourth in Division One and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost in the semi-final to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pardew acrimoniously moved to West Ham United the following October and was replaced by Brighton & Hove Albion's Steve Coppell. Coppell took the Royals to seventh in the Football League Championship, missing out on a place in the play-offs by three points.
Reading won the 2005–06 Championship with a league record 106 points, scoring 99 goals and losing only twice.[8] They were promoted to English football's top division for the first time in their history. The 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first appearance in the top flight of English football. Striker Dave Kitson became the first player to score for Reading in the Premier League, in a 3–2 win against Middlesbrough[9] The Royals defied pre-season predictions of relegation to finish the season in eighth place with 55 points. Reading turned down the chance to play in the Intertoto Cup. The club's top scorer in the league was Kevin Doyle with 13 goals, while top scorer overall was Peter Crouch with 14.
In the run up to their second season in the Premier League, Reading took part in the 2007 Peace Cup in South Korea, playing River Plate, Lyon and Shimizu S-Pulse, but failing to qualify for the final on goal difference.[10] This second season was less successful and Reading were relegated back to the Championship following a terrible loss of form in the second half of the season, before which they had looked set for a mid table finish. Their 7–4 defeat to Portsmouth remains the Premier League's highest aggregate score.[11] Despite winning 0-4 away at fellow strugglers Derby County on the last day of the season with goals from James Harper, Dave Kitson, Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita, Reading were relegated to the Championship due to Fulham grabbing a win at Portsmouth courtesy of a Danny Murphy goal [12].
Reading started the 2008–09 season with a 15 match unbeaten home run until losing to Southampton. In the second half of the season, they struggled to regain the form and slipped down the table before recovering to finish fourth and qualify for the play-offs,[13] where they lost to Burnley in the semi-final. This spelled the end of Steve Coppell's five and a half year reign as manager of the club, as he quit the club just hours after the game.[14] He was replaced by Brendan Rodgers,[15] who left the club by mutual consent on 16 December 2009. Brian McDermott, who has filled a number of roles at the club, was announced as caretaker manager on the same day.[16]
In the 2010–11 FA Cup, Reading picked up the scalps of West Bromwich Albion, Stevenage and Everton,[17] setting up a quarter-final clash with Manchester City. The Royals lost the game 1–0 at the City of Manchester Stadium,[18] although they went on a run of eight straight wins in the Championship, before it was brought to an end at Elland Road in a 0–0 draw with Leeds United.[19] Reading's undefeated run was brought to an end on Easter Monday in a 3–2 home defeat to Sheffield United.[20] Reading eventually finished 5th in the Championship to qualify for division's play-offs.[21] They defeated Cardiff City in the semi-finals with an emphatic 3–0 away victory to progress to the final at Wembley Stadium against another Welsh team, Swansea City.[22] More than 40,000 tickets were bought by Reading fans for the game. They lost 4–2, with two of the Swansea goals coming by way of penalties.[23]
Reading started the 2011/12 season under a cloud of uncertainty having sold their captain Matt Mills to Leicester for £5.5M and their 2010/11 top goal scorer and player of the season Shane Long to West Brom for a reported £4.5M. A minimal amount was spent bring players in, leading some fans to question the financial arrangements at the club.
The new crest design is based on the club colours, blue and white, a crown representing royal sovereignty for the County of Berkshire and an image of Reading's most famous landmark, the Maiwand Lion.[24]
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| Home (1891–92)[25] |
In 1871, at the formation of the Club, Reading did play in hoops. This lasted for only a few years, and upon entering the Southern Football League in 1894 the Club was playing in stripes – possibly so they did not clash with other teams who were already in the Southern League and wore hoops.
Reading then reverted to hoops until the beginning of the Second World War, because numbering of shirts became compulsory (in 1939), and the numbers were easier to see against a hooped background. Since then they've had several more changes.
In the mid 60s they changed the shirts to sky blue, following the fashion introduced by Coventry City. That remained until 1969, when they returned to hoops under the orders of manager of Jack Mansell.
Reading have remained in a variety of hooped shirts ever since, apart from the mid 1980s when they played in blue and white panels before hoops returned in 1992.[26]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1976–77 | Umbro | none |
| 1977–81 | Bukta | |
| 1981–82 | none | |
| 1982–83 | Reading Chronicle | |
| 1983–84 | Umbro | Radio 210 |
| 1984–89 | Patrick | Courage |
| 1989–90 | Matchwinner | |
| 1990–92 | HAT Painting | |
| 1992–93 | Brooks | Auto Trader |
| 1993–96 | Pelada | |
| 1996–99 | Mizuno | |
| 1999–2001 | Westcoast | |
| 2001–04 | Kit@ | |
| 2004–05 | Puma | |
| 2005–08 | Kyocera | |
| 2008–13 | Waitrose |
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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). Madejski Stadium replaced previous stadium Elm Park.[28] It was opened on 22 August 1998 when Luton Town were beaten 3–0 with Grant Brebner having the honour of scoring the first goal at the stadium. The rugby union club, London Irish, also play their home games there as tenants, although London is some 40 miles to the east, and Ireland some 240 miles to the west. It also provides the finish for the Reading Half Marathon.
It is an all-seater bowl stadium with a capacity of 24,161 and is located close to the M4 motorway. It was built on the site of a former household waste dump and the stadium is surrounded by methane vents. The stadium cost more than £50m to build and the pitch incorporates a system of synthetic fibres interwoven with natural grass, installed at a cost of more than £750,000.[29]
It was officially opened on 10 September 1998 by Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester.
For the first time in their history, Reading Football Club participated in the Premier League in the 2006–07 season. As a result of the sell-out crowds for their first few fixtures of the season, the club announced their intention, in October 2006,[30] to make a planning application to extend the ground to between 37,000 to 38,000 seats. The application was made on 24 January 2007, proposing initially the extension of the East Stand with a further 6,000 seats (raising capacity to around 30,000) and subsequently extension of the North and South Stands to reach the full proposed capacity.[31] On Thursday 24 May 2007 it was announced that planning permission had been granted to extend the stadium to a capacity of 36,900.[32] The first phase will expand the East Stand by 6,600 seats. Work was set to start in mid 2008, after the initial plan of extending in 2007 was scrapped due to spectator seats being affected, during the work, already being sold to season ticket holders. Reading's relegation from the Premier League in 2008 meant that all expansion plans were put on hold and are unlikely to resurface at least unless promotion back to the Premier League is achieved.
Before going out of business in 1992, Aldershot were Reading's biggest rivals.[33][34] There was a strong rift between the two sets of fans, with riots between fans occurring on several occasions. Strong feelings persist between fans of Reading and fans of Aldershot Town, the refounded club in Aldershot. With Aldershot Town rejoining the league in 2008, it remains to be seen whether this traditional rivalry will be reestablished.
During Aldershot's exile, Reading's main local rivalries were with Oxford United and Swindon Town. When the three teams had shared a division, their rivalry was referred to as the "Didcot Triangle".[35][36] However, the rivalry between Oxford and Swindon is far stronger than between either of the two and Reading, partly due to them both spending most of the last 6–7 years in lower divisions than Reading.[37]
Reading also have a special rivalry with the other blue and white hoops team QPR, with both teams branding the other as the "fake hoops".
Many fans also consider Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Chelsea, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United all to be rivals, although these are all to a much lesser extent.
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.[38] In their very first season they achieved a Southern Region Women's Football League and Cup double[39] 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 (in which they competed due to an overload at the Southern).
After achieving a creditable 6th position in the Northern Division, Reading were transferred to the Southern Division for the 2009/10 season. In 2010 they won their last 4 games of the season to finish runners-up to Barnet and secure promotion to the Premiership.[40]
On Sunday 3 April 2011 Reading WFC successfully defended the Berks and Bucks County Cup trophy cruising past Milton Keynes Dons 3–0 in the final.[41]
Their first season in the FA Women's Premier League National Division (the second highest league, following the formation of the Women's Super League) saw Reading finish 3rd.[42]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Source: Reading F.C. official website.[48]
In 1999 Reading F.C. commissioned a poll of the supporters' "Player of the Millennium", to determine the club's best ever player.[49] However, Reading's most successful period in their history to date was from 2005–2008, when they won promotion to the Premier League. Therefore, many other notable players, such as Kevin Doyle are not included in the poll.
| Pos. | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Friday |
| 2 | Trevor Senior |
| 3 | Steve Death |
| Shaka Hislop | |
| 5 | Phil Parkinson |
| 6 | Alf Messer |
| 7 | Jimmy Quinn |
| 8 | Michael Gilkes |
| 9 | Ronnie Blackman |
| 10 | Martin Hicks |
Board of Directors & Senior club staff
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