Reading FC blog run by fans, for fans.
A heads-up before we get going with this article: it’s an uncharacteristically personal piece which is probably quite self-indulgent. It’s certainly not in TTE’s usual focus, although it is about Reading Football Club (in a way). But I found it cathartic to write and it may be of help/relevance to some others, so here you […]
Both this season and last, there’s been lots of focus on whether we’d make the playoffs. Whether we’d ‘sneak in’ on the final day, be ‘in and around’ the playoffs for the new season or be able to ‘get back in contention’ over the final few weeks. And eventually, a sense that, although ‘at one […]
AFC Portchester scored five, including a hat-trick from Kim Fuller, to end Reading Women’s great run of form in a 5-3 thriller – if not a little chaotic match – at Arbour Park, Slough on Wednesday night. Team: Scarlett Bowcott (GK), Bethan Poole (Ava Broke-Smith, 65’), Sarah Thompson, Keziah Banduka, Jazz King (Lucy Bolitho, 16’), […]
Managing director Neil Peters joins The Tilehurst End to discuss the new One Royal initiative at the club. Neil gives a detailed interview on the process that led to One Royal. Ben and Ross ask about the changes to the loyalty points, and speak to some fan concerns about elite members receiving more points for […]
Though this season didn’t go as we’d hoped, falling apart in hugely disappointing fashion in the last few weeks, there were some strong individual performers. And now (you won’t have guessed by the title of this piece, I’m sure) we’d like you to vote for your standout. Jack Marriott has already won the club’s official […]
If you split every Reading player of the last eight years into either unanimously liked, split opinion or unanimously disliked, the latter of those categories would be distinctly more populated than the first. Andy Yiadom fits into the second though. There will be some fans that simply see him as a player who joined when […]
Leam Richardon’s got some work to do, hasn’t he? In the space of under a year, we’ve gone from a united fanbase who were behind the team, the manager and the ousting of the owner to now feeling completely disconnected with the team and the majority seemingly disillusioned with the manager. Maybe there’s a good […]
Here it is then, the end of the season. Lots of things have happened over the last few months: management changes, a playoff charge, injuries, player recruitment, more injuries and even more off the pitch. In earlier editions of this monthly summary, I always said February/March would give us the real indicator of whether we […]
“Reading are much, much better at developing youth nowadays”… is how I started this article last year. As for now? Not so much. While it’s been an oft-discussed point that Leam Richardson doesn’t really seem to trust youth players (just look at a lack of game time recently for Emmanuel Osho, Luke Howard and others), […]
Well, Saturday was a load of rubbish, wasn’t it? A quick caveat before I start. Yes, there are reasons to be grateful. The ‘at least we have a club’ mantra has become somewhat of a meme on social media, but it’s sometimes worth taking a step back and considering how poor the off-field situation was […]
We’ve got one final bit of housekeeping before we can roll out our player of the season voting: a last player of the month award. This time it covers five games in April and the final match of 2025/26, which took place in May. To put it bluntly, this was not a good period on […]
It’s the morning after the night before – the annual shuffle to the Purple Turtle where Reading fans usually gather to either celebrate or commiserate the season. This time there was nothing to celebrate, but plenty to unload. A season shared, yes, but one full of anguish, turmoil and absolutely no character to cling to. […]
Joel Pereira: 7 Reading’s best player on the day, saving them from worse calamity. Tipped a shot over the bar that looked destined for the top corner midway through the first half. Picked up another great save at the end of the day to stop the lap of appreciation being even more uncomfortable for Leam […]
Going to watch your team should be an escape from the realities of day-to-day life. You know, the bad weeks at work, navigating annoying errands, the bamboozlement of trying to get your head around multi-tiered subscription schemes – that kind of thing. But the notion of watching Reading being anything resembling an escape disappeared long […]
Form Blackpool finished ninth in League One last season, two places and eight points behind Reading. This season marks their third straight season in the third tier, having been relegated alongside the Royals in 2023. They will face another season in League One next campaign, currently sitting 14th in the league, four places and six points behind […]
It’s the final day and the final preview of the season, and a final chance for the Royals to get a win in 2025/26. Reading come into this match after drawing with Rotherham United in the previous game. Fans were gunning for the head of Leam Richardson but he is still here and hopefully we […]
Here we are again, the end of another season that will ultimately end in League One consolidation rather than celebration, and we are all left pondering what might have been. It was only four weeks ago that Reading sat firmly in the playoff picture, looking to extend a 46-game season to 48 or even 49 […]
Reading Women secured their third league win on the bounce with a 2-1 victory over Oxford City at Arbour Park, Slough on Thursday evening. Second-half strikes from Ellie Szekeres and Ellie Manners put the Royals into a deserved lead before a late goal from City’s Grace Craven set up a nervy finish in a match […]
Hat-tricks from Tia Johnson and Nat Cowell helped Reading Women romp home 8-0 winners over Fleet Town at Arbour Park, Slough on Sunday. Goals from Keren Banduka and captain Mia Parker sealed another high-scoring league victory. After the shock 1-0 defeat to Sholing at the beginning of March, Reading have bounced back in some style, […]
It’s fair to say we’re all reaching the end of our tether: with this season, this manager and the ineptitude of this team to play any kind of attacking, entertaining football. The worst bit is that we saw nothing new against Rotherham United. This is now our modus operandi. Bland, boring, aimless football is our […]
We’re almost there, folks. Almost at the end. Not the polished, finished article we all hoped to see on the pitch – just the end of a season that looks exhausted, frayed and ready to be cast into the bin of disappointment. All any of us want now is for this sorry campaign to be […]
I’ll be completely honest with you, I really don’t know where to start with writing anything interesting on this game, an Absolute Nothing of a 90 minutes at Rotherham United, so this is going to be a bit of a rant. The best thing about the match, truth be told, is that the time added […]
Joel Pereira: 6 Had the ball kicked out of his hands by Rotherham’s forward in the 76th minute and won a free kick from this, after using his footwork and body well to cut out the danger from the forward sniffing at a chance on the left of Reading’s box. Quite literally I have no […]
Form Rotherham United finished 13th in League One last season in their first year back in the third tier, following relegation from the Championship in 2023/24. The Millers regularly yo-yo between the second and third tiers and have spent five years in each division in the last decade. However, they will start next season in the […]
The Royals come into this match from a difficult game against Cardiff City, with their fate now sealed: in League One again next season. However, a game against another team who have had their future decided is an easier run at the end of the season. Rotherham United have already been relegated to League Two, […]