Reading FC blog run by fans, for fans.
Leam Richardson joined STAR for an excellent Q&A on Monday night at the SCL. I found it a fascinating and revealing evening, which taught us plenty about the Royals’ new-ish gaffer, so it’s worth diving into a little deeper. First and foremost, hats off to STAR for putting on the event. You won’t get better […]
Reading Women’s first league match in exactly a month finished all square on Sunday, with the points shared in a goalless draw against an in-form Southampton Women’s team at Arbour Park, Slough. Before yesterday, the Royals’ last three games had all been postponed due to waterlogged pitches. This meant the team hadn’t played a competitive […]
This Reading side is a conundrum. A confusion. A mystery wrapped in frustration. And honestly, this edition is hard to write – not because anything new has happened, but because nothing has. We keep collecting points while playing nowhere near the level of a team hovering around the playoff places, but are we developing? Only […]
The Royals picked up an exceptional three points on Saturday, scoring two late goals to secure a 2-1 victory against Bradford City at the SCL Stadium. Two late goals through Paddy Lane and Matt Ritchie secured the win after Matthew Pennington gave the visitors the lead. The win means we’re seventh, just one point off […]
Joel Pereira: 6 Showed fantastic footwork in the 18th minute, successfully corralling a horribly bouncing backpass before Cruyff-turning the onrushing attacker and calmly finding a midfielder. Punched away a cross-come-shot from Bradford in the 35th minute. Couldn’t make his hands strong enough to stop the high shot for Bradford’s opener. The ball did swerve a bit, […]
Reading came up against Bradford City today, sitting comfortably in the play-off places and currently in good form (fourth in the league form table). Reading, despite performances not being great, were in reasonably good form as well (seventh in the form table), had only lost two games so far this year and were playing at […]
Form Bradford City were promoted to League One last season, gaining automatic promotion after finishing third in League Two. Promotion ended their six -ear stay in the fourth tier, following their relegation from League One in 2019. The Bantams are having a strong first season back in League One and are right in the promotion hunt, […]
Well, that was annoying. Reading seem to have this thing where, once we go one goal up, we sit back and do nothing. That second half against Port Vale was one of the worst performances I have seen from Reading since the game against Peterborough United earlier in the season. The hosts deserved a goal, […]
Well, this season isn’t going quite as well as we thought it would, is it? Or is it? Reading are seventh in the table and in the fight for a playoff push, have invested heavily in the squad and brought in a lot of good, new players and have security from engaged owners. It doesn’t […]
With Reading Women’s last three away matches (against Fleet Town, Windsor & Eton and AFC Portchester) all postponed due to the continued wet weather, The Tilehurst End took the opportunity to meet up with goalkeeping coach Ryan Robinson. During our discussions, he kindly shared his views on how he felt the season has gone so […]
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 […]