Reading FC blog run by fans, for fans.
Reading Women bounced back from their midweek Berks & Bucks Cup defeat to Ascot United with a 2-1 league victory over Sholing on Sunday, to climb to fourth place in the table. Goals from Keren Banduka and Nat Cowell either side of half-time put the Royals into a comfortable lead before Ella Wilson grabbed one […]
4 months ago | 1 read
After two home matches that lead to four points but poor performances, Noel Hunt has been removed as Reading manager. Ben and Ross pick out what did for Noel in the end, and debate the true level of the squad. The boys round up the likely managerial candidates and discuss what they want out of […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
I really, really wanted it to work out for Noel Hunt. In the end though, it just wouldn’t. On Sunday afternoon, his second spell in the Reading dugout finally came to an end. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers was hardly the worst result of the Royals’ season so far, but it was an all-too-familiar […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
The Royals picked up another point but looked tired in their 1-1 draw against Doncaster Rovers at the SCL Stadium on Saturday. Ex-Reading striker Billy Sharp gave the visitors the lead in the second half before Kamari Doyle equalised to share the points. The point leaves us two points clear of the relegation zone in […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
I don’t really know where to begin with this report, so here’s the abridged version of how this afternoon went/made me feel: And to be honest, I’d much prefer to be able to write about The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization by Bryan Ward-Perkins or Powers and Thrones by Dan Jones than […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
Jack Stevens: 6 An erratic but mostly effective performance. Had a shaky moment early on when he palmed a cross back down into a danger zone, but was able to clean it up. Made a really great save when Doncaster Rovers worked the ball into Reading’s box just before the break, sliding down to stop […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Form Doncaster Rovers secured promotion back to League One last season after finishing as League Two champions, four points clear of runners-up Port Vale. Promotion ended their three-year spell in the fourth tier, having been relegated from League One in 2022. They are currently smack bang in the middle of the table, sitting 12th in the […]
4 months ago | 1 read
The Royals finally managed a win on Tuesday, beating Northampton Town in the 65th minute… again, with the goalscorer being Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan… again. A very weird turn of events that was. To have the same scoreline as the 2023/24 fixture, the same scorer and in the same minute, very weird. Doncaster Rovers started the season […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Our win against Northampton Town on Tuesday evening came just three days after a disappointing loss at Cardiff City, and I say disappointing because I still believe that, if you are 1-0 ahead at half-time, you need to be securing a point at the very least, against any team in this division. While the Cardiff […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
Reading Women exited the Berks & Bucks Cup after a close match saw them finish on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against Ascot United at the Racecourse Ground on Tuesday night. A clinical finish from Ascot’s Kate Fox in the 14th minute, a stunning top-corner save from Reading goalkeeper Lilly Hadrava in the […]
4 months ago | 1 read
The Royals picked up an important three points with a 1-0 victory against Northampton Town at the SCL Stadium on Tuesday night. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan scored the only goal of the game in the second half to take us out of the relegation zone and move up to 16th. Here is what manager Noel Hunt had […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Jack Stevens: 6 Found the ball far away from his goal for most of the early stages. Made a good catch and a poor clearance with his first two major interventions of the first half. Bravely dove at the feet of the onrushing Northampton attacker to make an excellent save in the 25th minute. Alert […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Three points. Job done. A not-so-spectacular performance with a relieving result at the end of it is just what the doctor ordered for Reading at this point in time. I was strangely confident going into the match. Although it has been a run of not-so-positive results, the performance at Cardiff City was as good as […]
4 months ago | 3 reads
Form Northampton Town finished 19th in League One last season, two places and five points clear of the relegation zone. This will be their third straight season in the third tier, having won promotion from League Two in 2023 when finishing third. The Cobblers are having a better season this term and currently sit 11th – […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
Ben and Ross are just straight chilling, yo. Maxin’ out and analysing a first Reading loss in a month against the high-flying Bluebirds. Ben challenges Ross to go looking for the positives, and the pair discuss what it will take for Paddy Lane to find the back of the net again. Plus, a healthy mailbag […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Another day, another loss for the Royals, but we actually played well against a Cardiff City side who are now top of the league. Another screamer from Lewis Wing and another sitter missed from Paddy Lane saw the Royals dominate the first half. But a Jack Stevens error for the first Bluebirds goal, and some […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Editor’s note: This article was written before Reading’s game at Cardiff City on Saturday, although stats have been updated to include that match (unless otherwise stated). One of the major talking points so far this season is the position of Noel Hunt as Reading manager. Hunt became our manager following Ruben Sellés’ move to Hull […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Hindsight in football is an unavoidable yet dangerous thing. Once the raw emotion drains from another road trip that yielded nothing, you can almost convince yourself it wasn’t all bad. In isolation, this was actually a good performance. We created more chances here than in several previous games combined. The passing was sharper, the movement […]
4 months ago | 1 read
The Royals suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cardiff City in what manager Noel Hunt called our most complete performance of the season. Lewis Wing put the Royals ahead in the first half to take us into the break ahead. Cardiff scored twice in the second half to take all three points. The […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Football’s a deeply ironic game, really. For instance, Reading can go on an unbeaten run despite being very poor going forwards, and then lose that unbeaten run despite putting in – by far – their best attacking performance of the season. My main gripe with Noel Hunt’s management has been just how stale, flat and […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Jack Stevens: 5 Brought in to replace the injured Joel Pereira, having played pretty well in his cup games. Helped smother away a dangerous play into his near post right after Reading took the lead. Let Cardiff’s equaliser through his body early in the second half, but had to deal with a very late deflection […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Form Cardiff City were relegated from the Championship last season after finishing bottom of the league, five points away from safety. This ended their six-year stay in the second tier, having been relegated from the Premier League in 2019. They have had a strong first quarter of the season and look to be in the […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
It feels weird not having a midweek game to focus on, but here we are. Last time out the Royals shared the points with the Grecians – goals from Jack Marriott and Jayden Wareham cancelling each other out. It was a very poor game yet again from the Royals and things are starting to look […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Making your writing debut for TTE knowing that 86% of Reading fans are going to disagree with what you’re about to write helps focus the mind. That somewhat incredible stat, from a recent TTE poll, reflects the number of people who feel the time to replace Noel Hunt has now arrived. That’s the same all-round […]
4 months ago | 1 read
I was going to save myself a lot of time this week by using much of the text from last week’s column and just replacing the name of the opposition in question, because unfortunately it was rinse and repeat as far as the performance at Exeter City was concerned. My matchday bingo card was as […]
4 months ago | 0 reads