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Reading F.C.

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Reading
Reading logo
Full nameReading Football Club
Nickname(s)The Royals
Founded25 December 1871
GroundMadejski Stadium
Reading
Capacity24,161
ChairmanEngland John Madejski
ManagerEngland Steve Coppell
LeaguePremier League
2006–078th

Reading Football Club are an association football club, based in the English town of Reading, in Berkshire. They currently play in the FA Premier League. 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. Reading's mascot is a lion called Kingsley Royal.

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

History

Reading were formed on 25th December 1871. They were originally nicknamed the 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 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. The crest design is based upon 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 most famous landmark, the Forbury lion.

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 playoff 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. Former Celtic boss, Tommy Burns lasted just 18 months before being replaced by Alan Pardew who had previously been reserve team manager before being released. 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.

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'.

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 playoffs. Their promotion hopes were ended by a defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the semi-finals, Reading's third unsuccessful attempt to gain promotion via 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 playoffs.

Reading reach the Premiership

Also See: Reading 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.[4][5] The following week, they celebrated winning the Championship after defeating Derby County 5-0, while Stoke City held Sheffield Utd 1-1[6]. 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 amount of points for the second tier — 106 — and fell only one short of scoring 100 goals. Reading lost only two games during the season.[7]

First Premier League season - 2006–07

Also See: Reading Season 2006-07

The 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first ever 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.[8] 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), proving themselves more than worthy opposition for any team in the division.

Reading notched up some impressive results during the early stages of the season, including a draw against Manchester United and a narrow defeat to defending champions Chelsea, leading many commentators to change their opinion of the Premiership's newest member.[9][10]

Perhaps one of the highlights of the season came on 1 January 2007, when Reading beat West Ham United 6-0.[11] It represents the club's first ever '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[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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, whilst top scorer overall was Leroy Lita with 14.

Peace Cup 2007

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[15].

2nd Premier League Season - 2007–08

Also See: Reading Season 2007-08

Reading's second season in the Premier League began on 12 August 2007, with an away fixture against champions Manchester United, in which the match ended in a scoreless draw, Dave Kitson being controversially sent off after less than a minute for a challenge on Patrice Evra. On the 15th August 2007 Reading's first home game of the season finished with a 1-2 defeat to Chelsea. Reading took the lead through Andre Bikey, but 2 goals in the 5 minutes immediately after half time from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba respectively condemned Reading to their first defeat of the season. Reading's next home game on the 18th August 2007 against Everton finished with a 1-0 win for Reading as a consequence of Stephen Hunt's 44th minute volley. Reading then took on Bolton and were defeated 3-0 away. Reading next played Swansea City away on Tuesday August 27th 2007 in the 1st round of this years Carling (league) cup, Reading won 1-0 because of Leroy Lita's goal in extra time, Sam Sodje was sent off for 2 controversial yellow cards in this match. Reading were yet again defeated 3-0 this time at home to West Ham United with 2 goals from Matthew Ethrington and 1 goal from Craig Bellamy. Reading's next game is away to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

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.[citation needed]

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.[16] 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.[17]

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[18], superseding the three goals conceded by Derby County in the first nine minutes of its home Premiership match with Leicester City in 1997-98.

Club records

National records

  • Longest winning sequence at the start of a season: 13 victories in 1985-86.
  • Longest run in the football league without conceding a goal: 1103 minutes, over 11 matches between 24 March 1979 and 18 August 1979 (Steve Death was the goalkeeper throughout this run[20])
  • The first of the clubs who joined the Football League in 1920-22 to score 5000 League goals. Adie Williams scored the 5000th against Wycombe in September 2000 but, due to a miscalculation, the framed certificate went to Darius Henderson who got the 5001st
  • Longest unbeaten run in a single season of the 2nd tier of English Football: 33 games (2005-06)
  • Most points in a single season in any English professional league: 106 points (2005-06)

Current first team squad

As of 31 August 2007.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Marcus Hahnemann
2 DF Scotland SCO Graeme Murty (captain)
3 DF England ENG Nicky Shorey
4 MF France FRA Kalifa Cissé
5 DF Senegal SEN Ibrahima Sonko
6 MF Iceland ISL Brynjar Gunnarsson
7 MF England ENG Glen Little
8 FW England ENG Leroy Lita
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Kevin Doyle
10 MF Ireland EIR Stephen Hunt
11 MF Wales WAL John Oster
12 FW England ENG Dave Kitson
14 DF England ENG John Halls
15 MF England ENG James Harper
16 DF Iceland ISL Ívar Ingimarsson (vice captain)
17 MF United States USA Bobby Convey
20 MF Ivory Coast CIV Emerse Faé
22 DF Cameroon CMR André Bikey
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF Ecuador ECU Ulises de la Cruz
24 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Shane Long
27 DF England ENG Aaron Brown
29 DF England ENG Michael Duberry
32 GK Australia AUS Adam Federici
33 DF England ENG Scott Golbourne
34 MF England ENG James Henry
35 DF England ENG Alex Pearce
36 GK Denmark DEN Mikkel Andersen
37 FW England ENG Hal Robson-Kanu
38 DF England ENG Adam Bygrave
39 FW England ENG Simon Church
40 MF Turkey TUR Jem Karacan
42 MF Australia AUS Oliver Bozanic
43 FW Iceland ISL Viktor Illugason
47 DF Hungary HUN Péter Máté (on loan from Debreceni VSC)
–– DF England ENG Liam Rosenior
–– MF Iceland ISL Gylfi Sigurðsson

Players out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF Nigeria NGA Sam Sodje (at Charlton Athletic for the 2007-08 season)
21 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Graham Stack (at Wolverhampton Wanderers until September 2007)
25 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Bennett (at Southampton until January 2008)
26 DF England ENG Curtis Osano (at Rushden & Diamonds on work experience for the 2007-08 season)
31 FW England ENG Simon Cox (at Swindon Town until January 1st 2008)
41 GK England ENG Ben Hamer (at Brentford until September 2007)
44 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Scott Davies (at Aldershot for the 2007-08 season)

For recent transfers, see List of English football transfers 2007-08.

Club officials

Board of Directors & Senior club staff

Management team

Honours and Best Finishes

Notable former players

  • George Best — made 4 pre-season appearances for Reading in 1982, before joining AFC Bournemouth.
  • Matt Busby — 40 wartime (non-league) appearances during 1942-1945[21]
  • Darren Caskey — made over 200 Appearances for Reading between 1996-2001, scoring 23 goals from midfield in the 1999-2000 season
  • Steve Death — went 1103 minutes without conceding a goal, an English league record.
  • Kerry Dixon — high scoring striker who was sold to Chelsea in 1983 and was later capped 8 times by England.
  • Pat Earles — made over 250 appearances for Reading scoring 87 goals.
  • Robin Friday — Winner of the club's "Player of the Millennium" award.
  • Maurice Evans — manager of Fourth Division championship side in 1979 and later managed Oxford United to League Cup glory.
  • William Garbutt — Started playing career with Reading, went on to play for Arsenal and then became a prominent manager in both Italy and Spain, winning the respective countries league titles.
  • Shaka Hislop — goalkeeper in 1995 playoff final who was then sold to Newcastle United for £1.575million and later represented Trinidad and Tobago in the 2006 World Cup.
  • Bob Lenarduzzi — NASL star and former Canadian international and national team manager.
  • Borislav Mikhailov — Bulgarian international goalkeeper, semifinalist in World Cup 1994.
  • Phil Parkinson — made 361 League appearances for Reading between 1992-2003 before becoming Manager of Colchester United and later Hull City & then assistant manager to former Reading FC manager Alan Pardew at the now relagated Charlton Athletic.
  • Linvoy Primus - Defender who played for the club between 1997-2000
  • Jimmy Quinn - Made 294 appearances between 1992-1997, top scorer in the whole football league in 1994 when Reading gained promotion, took over as joint manager with Mick Gooding when Mark McGhee acrimoniously left for Leicester City in December of that year.
  • Steve Sidwell — made nearly 200 appearances for Reading between 2003-2007 before leaving the club for Chelsea FC at the end of his contract. A very popular player who epitomised Reading FC during his time with the club, and was a key part of the team who won promotion to the Premiership.
  • Dariusz Wdowczyk — formerly a Poland international with 53 caps from 1984-92, he made 82 appearances for Reading between 1994-98.
  • Adrian Williams — Wales international.

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".[22] 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[citation needed].

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

Famous Supporters

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


References

  1. ^ "Leicester 1-1 Reading. They gained 106 points, a record, beating Sunderlands previous record". BBC Sport. 2006-03-25. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "The History of Reading Football Club". readingfc.co.uk. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ "The Reading FC Tour of Italy 1913". 2002. Retrieved 2006-08-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Early Day Motion 1902". 2006-03-27. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Early Day Motion 1911". 2006-03-28. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Reading 5-0 Derby". BBC Sport. 2006-04-01. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Championship Table 2005-06". football365. 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2007-06-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Reading 3-2 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2006-08-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Paul Wilson (2006-08-13). "This way to Euro glory". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Paul Wilson (2006-10-08). "A Royals apology, but don't wait to see what's around the corner". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-12-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Reading 6-0 West Ham". BBC Sport. 2007-01-01. Retrieved 2007-02-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Man City 0-2 Reading". BBC Sport. 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-02-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Reading 2-3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2007-05-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Blackburn 3-3 Reading". BBC Sport. 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-05-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Peace Cup diary". BBC Berkshire. 2007-07-19. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Reading 2-1 QPR". BBC Sport. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "We can be ton up kings - Doyle". getreading.co.uk. 2006-04-18. Retrieved 2006-05-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "'It is not often there is honour in defeat' says proud Coppell". The Independent. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Fae joins for club record fee". 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2007-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Royals Legends - Steve Death". readingfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-05-04.
  21. ^ Downs, David (2000). Reading Football Club: 100 Greats. Tempus Publishing Ltd. pp. pp. 27. ISBN 075242081X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  22. ^ "Didcot Triangle/Wallingford Quadrangle". Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  23. ^ "Picadilly Radio Interview". 1985. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  24. ^ "Only two Rs for Arlott - writing and Reading". The Guardian. 2006-03-28. Retrieved 2007-03-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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