Beginning the Championship Season
EFL CHAMPIONSHIP - MATCHDAY 1
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Reading 1-4 Derby - We start off with an appalling result against Derby at home on the opening day. Derby are one of the better teams in the league, but I really had hoped that we would do a lot better here. Despite the score line, we dominated the stats with 22 shots to 8 in our favor. However, we missed a number of huge opportunities, and Derby's penalty in my opinion should not have been given.
EFL CHAMPIONSHIP - MATCHDAY 2
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Nottingham Forest 2-1 Reading - We did face a difficult start against promotion fighting sides, so losing to Nottingham Forest was probably the expected result. This time we were dominated statistics wise and the score line does flatter us a little. Callum Hudson-Odoi had a good game today, scoring his first goal for the club, but we couldn't get back into the match, unfortunately.
CARABAO CUP - 1st Round
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Reading 2-1 Northampton - We pick up our first win of the season, albeit unconvincingly with the reserves. Liam Kelly was the main man, the CDM scored both goals, but also did a class job at stopping the Northampton attacks. We're through to the next round of the Carabao Cup, however it is a competition that both the board and I feel is unimportant.
EFL CHAMPIONSHIP - MATCHDAY 3
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Reading 2-0 Bolton - We manage a first win in the Championship as Liam Kelly continues his good form in the side with another goal from the spot. We dominated throughout this match, although it took a while for us to finally find the back of the end. Once we did, we were able to take full control and win the match comfortably in the end.
EFL CHAMPIONSHIP - MATCHDAY 4
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Blackburn 1-2 Reading - We pick up another win here, this time a hard fought one against a decent Blackburn side. Due to fitness, Yakou Meite started ahead of Neal Maupay, and it paid off, with Meite scoring the opener just before half-time. Despite an equalizer, the goal really hurt Blackburn's style of play, and allowed us to create numerous chances, with Sims eventually putting the winner away.
EFL CHAMPIONSHIP - MATCHDAY 5
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Aston Villa 1-1 Reading - This is a very decent draw with Villa in my opinion. We played quite well against them, and for once we showed that we could be a solid defensive unit, after they scored early on. We levelled late on, thanks to a Hudson-Odoi stunner, volleying the ball home from just outside the area. We're starting to pick up a bit more form now, which is good to see.
CARABAO CUP - 2nd Round
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Birmingham p2-2 Reading - Despite this being an unimportant tournament, I did not expect us to crash out in the 2nd round. We should really be beating a side like Birmingham and not letting them back into it in the 86th minute, to concede again in the 90+3rd. All of penalties were atrocious, even Meyler's should've been saved. I'll get some penalty taking training done, as this was absolutely terrible.
AUGUST - MONTH IN REVIEW
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We started poorly in August, dropping our first two matches, but we soon recovered, getting consecutive wins to get us back on track. Overall, we didn't do too badly, considering we did have some top Championship sides like Derby and Villa. Despite this, we are dominating and still conceding in most matches, so defence is a problem at the moment. Chris Mepham has been solid so far, but he can only do much. Liam Moore and Andy Yiadom need to step up soon or I'll have to drop them for a bit.
LEAGUE TABLE
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We currently sit 12th in the League. I don't find this too bad, it's where a side like Reading might finish in real life.
PLAYER OF THE MONTH
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Liam Kelly - There were a few contenders for this award, like Josh Sims and Chris Mepham, but Liam Kelly deserved it, as he was a reliable defensive option in the midfield, and he also is our top scorer despite his position at CDM (although 2 have been penalties).