2005-06 record
League Promoted, Championship winners
FA Cup 4th round
Carling Cup 4th round
FED A DIET OF MOSTLY LOW-GRADE opposition, including Didcot Town, Rushden & Diamonds and Lanna GoIF, the Swedish part-timers, Reading could have done little more than chalk up nine wins and a draw, scoring 39 goals, in ten pre-season friendlies. Feyenoord, the Dutch club, provided the acid test at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday and they, too, were dispatched, goals from Dave Kitson and Ivar Ingimarsson completing a 2-1 victory.
Feyenoord had beaten Middlesbrough 2-0 and lost 1-0 to Chelsea in previous outings, but Pierre van Hooijdonk, the former Nottingham Forest player, was impressed with Reading’s hustle and bustle. “They were strong and aggressive,” the Feyenoord striker said. “How they will get on in the Premiership, I don’t know. It is hard to judge.”
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Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, will want to replicate West Ham United, who, after winning promotion to the Barclays Premiership, did not look out of their depth and reached the FA Cup Final and qualified for the Uefa Cup. “We don’t want to be passive,” Coppell said. “We want to go forward and have a go.”
Kitson and Kevin Doyle are unlikely to prove as prolific, but Steve Sidwell, the midfield player, should enhance a reputation that has had Charlton Athletic and Manchester City scrambling for his services.
Manager Coppell demonstrated his tactical awareness during Reading’s irrepressible run to the Championship title last season and, for this achievement alone, he should not be in danger of chairman John Madejski’s wrath, no matter how tough it becomes for the club this season
Player to watch Seol Ki-Hyeon is the longest-serving Korean national playing in Europe, having joined Royal Antwerp in Belgium in 2000 before moving to RSC Anderlecht, where he won the Belgian title in 2004. He will not mind having to use his strength to out-muscle defenders — he was the most tackled player at the 2002 World Cup
In an ideal world Real achievement will be managing to avoid relegation. If they can manage to make a good start to the season, as they did to achieve promotion, Coppell’s team can give themselves a chance
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INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
Aaron Brown (broken leg, six months), Brynjar Gunnarsson (groin, one week), Glen Little (hamstring, one week), Ibrahima Sonko (groin, one week)
PRE-SEASON
A 9-1 thrashing of Didcot Town, a 10-1 thumping of Lanna GoIF and a 6-0 hammering of Gallstad FK are all very well, but it somewhat surprising that Steve Coppell has not opted for sterner tests before his side’s Premiership debut.
TICKET SALES
Reading’s season-ticket sales have doubled to 18,000 compared with this time last year. One would imagine their promotion to the Premiership has had something to do with that.
If they were a historical figure they would be... Yuri Gagarin
Destined to be recognised forever for boldly going where no Reading men have been before