Reading F.C.

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Reading
Reading FC.svg
Full name Reading Football Club
Nickname(s) The Royals
Founded 1871
Ground Madejski Stadium
Reading
(Capacity: 24,161[1])
Chairman Sir John Madejski
Manager Brian McDermott
League The Championship
2010–11 The Championship, 5th
Home colours
Away colours
Current season

Reading Football Club (play /ˈrɛdɪŋ/) is an English association football club based in the town of Reading 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.

Reading 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.

Reading played at Elm Park for 102 years. 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.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years (1871–1941)

Team photo from the 1926–7 season

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.

[edit] Post-war years (1945–1990)

Reading playing at Elm Park in 1981

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.[6]

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.

[edit] New era (1990–1998)

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.

[edit] Onwards and upwards (1998–2008)

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'.[7][8]

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.

Fans celebrate their team winning the 2005–06 Championship

Reading won the 2005–06 Championship with a league record 106 points, scoring 99 goals and losing only twice.[9] 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[10] 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 Didier Drogba with 20.

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.[11] 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.[12] 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 [13].

[edit] Back in the Championship (2008–present)

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,[14] 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.[15] He was replaced by Brendan Rodgers,[16] 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.[17]

In the 2010–11 FA Cup, beat West Bromwich Albion, Stevenage and Everton,[18] setting up a quarter-final clash with Manchester City. The Royals lost the game 1–0 at the City of Manchester Stadium,[19] 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.[20] Reading's undefeated run was brought to an end on Easter Monday in a 3–2 home defeat to Sheffield United.[21] Reading eventually finished 5th in the Championship to qualify for division's play-offs.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

Reading started the 2011/12 season under a cloud of uncertainty having sold their captain Matt Mills to Leicester and their 2010/11 top goal scorer and player of the season Shane Long to West Brom. On 20 January 2012 it was announced that there would potentially be investment in Reading F.C. by Thames Sports Investment.[25]

The first players to join this new Reading era were Jason Roberts, Tomasz Cywka and Matthew Connolly.

[edit] Crest and colours

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.[26]

Home (1891–92)[27]

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.[28]

[edit] Manufacturers and sponsors

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

[edit] Kit manufacturers

[edit] Shirt sponsors

[edit] Stadiums

Madejski Stadium north stand exterior

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.[30] 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.[31]

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,[32] 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.[33] On Thursday 24 May 2007 it was announced that planning permission had been granted to extend the stadium to a capacity of 36,900.[34] 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.

[edit] Rivalries

Before going out of business in 1992, Aldershot were Reading's biggest rivals.[35][36] 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".[37][38] 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.[39]

[edit] 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.[40] In their very first season they achieved a Southern Region Women's Football League and Cup double[41] 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.[42]

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.[43]

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.[44]

[edit] Players

As of 16 February 2012.[45][46][47]

[edit] Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK Adam Federici
2 England DF Andy Griffin
3 England DF Matthew Connolly (on loan from Queens Park Rangers)
4 Turkey MF Jem Karacan
5 Scotland DF Alex Pearce
6 Iceland MF Brynjar Gunnarsson
7 Republic of Ireland MF Jay Tabb
8 Antigua and Barbuda MF Mikele Leigertwood
9 England FW Adam le Fondre
10 Republic of Ireland FW Noel Hunt
11 Jamaica MF Jobi McAnuff (captain)
14 Mali MF Jimmy Kébé
16 England DF Joseph Mills
17 Latvia DF Kaspars Gorkšs
18 Wales FW Simon Church
19 Wales MF Hal Robson-Kanu
20 England MF Brian Howard
21 Republic of Ireland FW Karl Sheppard
22 France FW Mathieu Manset
No. Position Player
23 Republic of Ireland DF Ian Harte
24 England DF Shaun Cummings
27 France FW Cédric Baseya
29 England FW Nicholas Bignall
30 England GK Simon Locke
31 Denmark GK Mikkel Andersen
32 England FW Jacob Walcott
33 Grenada FW Jason Roberts
34 Canada DF Ethan Gage
36 England DF Jack Mills
38 England MF Frankie Raymond
41 Poland MF Tomasz Cywka
42 Republic of Ireland DF Carl McHugh
43 England DF Nick Arnold
44 England MF John Goddard
48 Republic of Ireland FW David Murphy
50 Australia MF Cameron Edwards
51 Australia MF Ryan Edwards

[edit] Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
12 England GK Alex McCarthy (at Ipswich Town until 11 April 2012)
15 England GK Sean Morrison (at Huddersfield Town until End of the Season)
25 Wales MF Jake Taylor (at Exeter City until 28 February 2012)
28 England MF Michail Antonio (at Sheffield Wednesday until End of the Season)
35 England DF Michael Hector (at Barnet until End of the Season)
37 England MF Jordan Obita (at Barnet until 27 February 2012)
No. Position Player
39 England FW Brett Williams (at Northampton Town until 8 March 2012)
40 England MF Lawson D'Ath (at Yeovil Town until 9 March 2012)
46 England DF Angus MacDonald (at Torquay United until End of the Season)
47 England MF Charlie Losasso (at Salisbury City until End of the Season)
49 England FW Gozie Ugwu (at Ebbsfleet United until 3 March 2012)

[edit] Player of the Season

Season Player
1963–64 England Colin Meldrum
1964–65 England Colin Meldrum
1965–66 England Jimmy Wheeler
1966–67 England George Harris
1967–68 England Mike Dixon
1968–69 England Peter Silvester
1969–70 England Steve Death
1970–71 England Terry Bell
1971–72 England Gordon Cumming
1972–73 England Steve Death
1973–74 England Steve Death
1974–75 England Robin Friday
1975–76 England Robin Friday
1976–77 England Steve Death
1977–78 England Richie Bowman
1978–79 England Richie Bowman
 
Season Player
1979–80 England Mark White
1980–81 England Steve Hetzke
1981–82 England Jerry Williams
1982–83 England Steve Richardson
1983–84 England Steve Richardson
1984–85 England Steve Wood
1985–86 England Steve Wood
1986–87 Scotland Kevin Bremner
1987–88 England Steve Francis
1988–89 England Trevor Senior
1989–90 England Martin Hicks
1990–91 England Keith McPherson
1991–92 England Mick Gooding
1992–93 England Mick Gooding
1993–94 England Dylan Kerr
1994–95 Trinidad and Tobago Shaka Hislop
 
Season Player
1995–96 England Mick Gooding
1996–97 England Trevor Morley
1997–98 England Phil Parkinson
1998–99 England Phil Parkinson
1999–00 England Darren Caskey
2000–01 England Martin Butler
2001–02 Scotland Graeme Murty
2002–03 England James Harper
2003–04 Scotland Graeme Murty
2004–05 England Dave Kitson
2005–06 Republic of Ireland Kevin Doyle
2006–07 Iceland Ivar Ingimarsson
2007–08 Republic of Ireland Stephen Hunt
2008–09 England Chris Armstrong
2009–10 Iceland Gylfi Sigurdsson
2010–11 Republic of Ireland Shane Long

Source: Reading F.C. official website.[48]

[edit] Notable former players

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. Notable former players include Trevor Senior, Neil Webb, Shaka Hislop, Trevor Morley and Steve Sidwell.

Pos. Player
1 England Robin Friday
2 England Trevor Senior
3 England Steve Death
Trinidad and Tobago Shaka Hislop
5 England Phil Parkinson
6 England Alf Messer
7 Northern Ireland Jimmy Quinn
8 England Michael Gilkes
9 England Ronnie Blackman
10 England Martin Hicks

[edit] Club officials

Board of Directors & Senior club staff

  • Chief Executive – Nigel Howe
  • Commercial Director – Pat Coyne
  • Club Secretary – Sue Hewett
  • Financial Controller – Bryan Stabler
  • Directors – Sir John Madejski (Chairman) & Ian Wood-Smith (Director)

Management team[50][51][52]

[edit] Managers

Notable former managers of the club include Ian Branfoot, Mark McGhee, Tommy Burns, Alan Pardew and Steve Coppell.

[edit] Honours

Semi-finalists 1927
Quarter-finalists 1996, 1998
  • Highest league finish:
Premier League 2007, 8th Place

[edit] Managerial

[edit] References

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  2. ^ Discover gems of our heritage, Reading Chronicle, 10 September, 2009.
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  41. ^ "Women secure league & cup double". readingfc.co.uk. http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/WomensNews/0,,10306~1061182,00.html. Retrieved 19 November 2007. 
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  43. ^ http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/WomensNews/0,,10306~2330585,00.html
  44. ^ http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/WomensNews/0,,10306~2352693,00.html
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  47. ^ "Dates of our current loans". Reading F.C.. http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/Loans/0,,10306,00.html. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
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  49. ^ "Player Of The Millennium vote". Reading F.C.. 5 September 2008. http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/History/0,,10306~70546,00.html. Retrieved 18 August 2009. 
  50. ^ "Reading F.C. "The Management"". Reading F.C.. http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/ManagementProfilesIndex/0,,10306,00.html. Retrieved 20 February 2012. 
  51. ^ "RFC Academy staff list". Reading F.C.. 13 February 2012. http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/AcademySquad/0,,10306~1065188,00.html. Retrieved 20 February 2012. 
  52. ^ "More first team staff profiles". Reading F.C.. 20 September 2011. http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/ManagementProfiles/0,,10306~1065025,00.html. Retrieved 20 February 2012. 

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