Reading FC blog run by fans, for fans.
Reading concede in the sixth minute of stoppage time at bottom club Port Vale, sparking calm reactions across the fanbase… Ben and Ross discuss what’s contributing to the Royals’ struggles with holding leads and analyse the team’s over-eagerness to clear the ball. Former host Marc Mayo pops into the mailbag with an email that spurs […]
For the second game in a row, Leam Richardson’s men got exactly what they deserved: punished by a late equaliser that had been coming from the moment the second half started. Yes, the pitch was a leveller and horrendous conditions for football, but that really isn’t an excuse. If we’d played even close to the […]
The Royals dropped two points after conceding a disappointing last-minute equaliser to share the points with relegation strugglers Port Vale on Saturday. Lewis Wing gave Reading the lead in the first half with a penalty, but Martin Sherif scored in the 96th minute to secure a point for Port Vale. That’s the second last-minute equaliser […]
Two games, two draws, two last‑minute equalisers. Two too many. Reading have once again managed to undo their own hard work, and it’s difficult to argue that anyone but ourselves are to blame. Why this keeps happening is far harder to pin down. Is it the manager’s tactics? A lack of on‑field communication? Or simply […]
Two staggering things happened today during the course of this football match. First, and most importantly – despite the result – 1,536 Reading fans made the long journey up to watch this game, in horrible conditions. What an absolutely magnificent effort from each and everyone one of them. The second staggering thing: we were largely […]
Joel Pereira: 6 Got down well to his right in the 15th minute to help Reading end the threat from a corner. Fought away a strong shot when Port Vale got free in the box late in the first half, stopping Reading from immediately conceding an equaliser. Put two strong hands on a dangerous-looking effort […]
Form Port Vale secured promotion back to League One last season, finishing as runners-up in League Two, four points behind champions Doncaster Rovers. They bounced straight back from relegation the previous season, when they finished 23rd in the league. The Valiants face a real fight on their hands to stay in the league, as they currently sit bottom […]
The Royals go into this game three unbeaten but I feel I should be saying three wins. That last match against Bolton Wanderers really should have been a victory. As I have seen said on Twitter, beforehand we would absolutely have taken a draw. But being ahead for that long and then conceding that late […]
Being a Reading supporter is certainly a strange thing right now! Sitting just two points below the playoff positions in mid-February would normally bring excitement and optimism, yet it seems very few are enjoying the ride. There are those who will (quite rightly) point to the stats and advise that a reality check is required, […]
It’s a tricky time to be a Reading fan. Well, in all honesty, this whole season has been. Tuesday’s game was an epitome of our situation right now. Disjointed, inconsistent – the whole game just felt a bit of a chore for the fans and a struggle for the players. We got exactly what we […]
In the space of a week, Jack Marriott picks up four goals and four points for the Royals. The boys discuss what makes the striker so good, with Ross focusing on his ball-striking. Ben leads us through a review of the Wycombe Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers games, with discussion of the grit shown by some […]
The Royals conceded a late equaliser against promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers in a 1-1 draw at the SCL Stadium on Tuesday. Jack Marriott continued his sensational form by giving us the lead in the first half. Bolton equalised through Mason Burstow with just minutes to go to secure a point. The point leaves us in eighth, […]
Joel Pereira: 6 Saved Reading from going a goal down within a minute when he made a strong low block, getting two hands on the ball in a one-on-one chance. Alert again in the final minute of the first half when he sprung up under his bar to deflect a header from a corner away. […]
You know you’re in a complicated, nuanced situation when a 3-2 win against one of your local rivals – in which your striker scores a hat-trick – sends you to within three points of the playoffs with a game in hand on sixth place, and it doesn’t provide unanimous positivity into the fanbase. Saturday’s win was a […]
Form Bolton Wanderers finished last season in eighth place in League One, one place and seven points behind Reading. This season marks their fifth straight season in the third tier, having won promotion from League Two in 2021, finishing third. The Trotters are in the promotion hunt this season and are currently third, but they sit […]
A great win at the weekend and a hat-trick for Jack Marriott have Reading three points off the playoffs in seventh place. A late playoff charge is on. A win midweek would keep us in seventh but only on goal difference behind Huddersfield Town, who we play in April, and could beat if we are […]
It’s largely been the case this season that our performances as a team have been rather unconvincing yet we’ve still managed to pick up important results through – mostly – impressive individual showings. The Valentine’s Day win over Wycombe Wanderers epitomised that. Wycombe were very good – the stats show they dominated the game – […]
The Royals picked up a big three points against local rivals Wycombe Wanderers in an exciting – and slightly stressful – 3-2 victory at the SCL Stadium on Saturday. Reading took the lead early in the first half through Jack Marriott and then absorbed a lot of Wycombe pressure. Marriott made it two just before […]
They say a week is a long time in politics, but in football it can feel like an eternity. Seven days ago we were picking apart a meek 3-2 loss away at AFC Wimbledon, undone by a hat‑trick from former Oxford United man Marcus Browne. Fast‑forward 168 hours, with another victory on the road at […]
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Well, best not as it’s actually a nippy day in mid-February, but still, I love you Jack Marriott. Valentine’s Day is when we celebrate the ones we hold in our hearts, and Marriott is most certainly our special someone. Time and time again he steps up (it’s […]
Joel Pereira: 7 On a busy afternoon, Pereira made some strong saves in both halves to keep Reading in the game. I wouldn’t fault him for either of the goals conceded – one from very close range and another blasted past him through sheer power – with the defence at fault. His distribution again wasn’t […]
Form Wycombe Wanderers finished fifth in League One last season, eight points off the automatic places but securing a place in the playoffs. They failed to make it to the playoff final, losing to eventual winners Charlton Athletic over two legs, where one goal in the second leg was enough to settle the two ties. This […]
The Royals are once again on their winning ways after a good away victory against Wigan Athletic. Weirdly, it has been Paudie O’Connor and Jeriel Dorsett among the goals in the last two matches, which isn’t a problem, but there’s a slight worry about where our strikers are. Wycombe Wanderers also won their last game, […]
On November 25, 2023, Reading headed into an away game against Wycombe Wanderers in an objectively dire state – both on and off the field. We had not won an away game in 378 days, we’d won seldom more at home, and things off the pitch were the worst they had ever been. Even by […]
The Royals continue the never-ending away trip with stops at AFC Wimbledon and Wigan Athletic, bringing a win and a loss (not respectively). Ben and Ross debate the team changes made after the loss in Southwest London, and there’s discussion of the performances of Paudie O’Connor, Benn Ward and Joel Pereira. The mailbag brings questions […]