Reading Story - A Second Effort

[SotK]

I have got a work around to my problem now, it just takes about 20 minutes to get FM to actually start :/ . Anyway, I have played most of the rest of the season, with the highlight being an 8 - 0 win against Burton in the FA Cup. I managed to get a 2 - 2 draw with Newcastle at the Madjeski as well, I would have won it but for an 89th minute offside goal from Alan Smith. I wasn't happy.

Here is the full list of results:
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As you can see, I am currently on a really disastrous run of form, with only 3 points from the last 5 games. Also, In my last 4 games I have thrown away a 2 goal lead. Against West Brom I was 2 - 0 up until the 88th minute, but somehow ended up with a draw. I need to get a result against Cardiff in my next game to have a good hope of playoffs, which is the best I can hope for now.

Anyway, with 4 games left to play I sit 6th in the table, and worryingly only a point clear of Watford, who have a game in hand on me.

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I'll do a proper update with match reports for my last 4 games and hopefully the playoffs when I finish the season.

 

[SotK]

Final Results:

The last games have been played, and Reading's hopes of promotion have finally got an answer. Whether it is a good answer is still to be seen. The last 4 league games ensured that it would go right down to the wire, with a great time to come back to winning ways against Watford meaning that a bettering Cardiff's result in the final game would clinch promotion. Reading could even afford to lose by just one goal if the Cardiff - Derby game ended in a draw.

CH: Cardiff 2 - 2 Reading (Dervite 20, Chopra 24, Karacan 71, Pearce 80):
Could have been much worse, as a defeat here would have effectively removed our chances of reaching the playoffs. As it is, we dropped to 7th, but having played the same number of games as Watford rather than them having a game in hand.

CH: Reading 3 - 3 Peterborough (Tabb 9, Rasiak 43, Matejovsky 47, Smith 23, Lee 45+2, McLean 90+4):
Awful result, but a good performance. McLean scored 4 minutes into the 3 minutes of injury time, whilst i was sat at my desk screaming at the computer for full time. This is a match we needed to be winning, but failed to do so, as has happened all too often this season. Positively, we were back in 6th after Watford failed to capitalise on our poor result.

CH: Watford 0 - 1 Reading (Henry 46):
Great to get back to winning ways, even if we only managed to grind out a 1 - 0. THis put me clear of Watford, leaving only Cardiff able to claim the last playoff spot from me going into the last game of the season.

Last Day Drama:

By the last day of the season, the Championship was all but done and dusted. Only formalities remained at both the top and the bottom, with either West Brom or Newcastle winning the title. Except for the last playoff spot. Reading are the favourites to claim it ahead of their game against Preston, but Cardiff will be hoping that they have what it takes to clinch it at the death by beating Derby and hoping that Reading slip up. With the pressure apparently mounting on Reading manager Coldrick, failure to even reach the playoffs will apparently result in his sacking.

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With all of the games kicking off simultaneously, it is set to be another exciting day.

Only 8 minutes into the days proceedings things were looking good for Reading as Derby went 1 - 0 up against Cardiff thanks to a goal from Gary Teale.

Reading 0 - 0 Preston
Derby 1 - 0 Cardiff

29 minutes later things got even better for the Royals as David N'Gog finally breaks his goal drought to put Reading ahead against Preston. Back at Pride Park, Giles Barnes put Derby 2 up against Cardiff, and 6th place looked to be heading to the Madejski.

Reading 1 - 0 Preston
Derby 2 - 0 Cardiff

However, Cardiff grabbed a goal back courtesy of Mark Hudson, and Joe Ledley fired in a sensational equaliser soon after to give Cardiff fans the promotion dream back. Reading were still leading the race however.

Reading 1 - 0 Preston
Derby 2 - 2 Cardiff

Reading midfielder Khalifa Cissé doubled his side's lead on 59 minutes, leading to much celebration from the Royals fans. Elsewhere, Giles Barnes struck again for Derby, edging them back ahead.

Reading 2 - 0 Preston
Derby 3 - 2 Cardiff

With the goals flowing at Pride Park, Michael Chopra gave his side hope of the playoffs once more after 63 minutes with another equaliser for the Welsh side. Reading fans were left biting their nails after 76 minutes when after a period of sustained pressure Preston striker Chris Brown grabbed a goal for Preston to put them right back in the game.

Reading 2 - 1 Preston
Derby 3 - 3 Cardiff

With 10 minutes to go at both Pride Park and The Madejski Stadium, it looked like Cardiff were just going to miss out on a shot at the playoffs. Things got worse for them when Steven Davies shot the Rams ahead again. A glimmer of hope they had was that Reading were under heavy pressure at the Madejski, where the score was still 2 - 1. In the 90th minute, Michael Chopra got his second and Cardiff's 4th as they equalised for the 3rd time in the game. However, Reading had managed to hold on to their lead, and so claimed 6th place, to the delight of their fans.

FT: Reading 2 - 1 Preston
FT: Derby 4 - 4 Cardiff

Playoffs - Heartbreak or Triumph:

With their club successfully reaching the Coca-Cola Championship Playoffs, and drawing Swansea in their semi-final, the Royals fans were hopeful if not expectant, and the first leg at The Madejski Stadium put them in pole position to reach the final after a decent win.

CH: Reading 3 - 2 Swansea (Cissé 5, Tabb 22, Gunnarsson 36, Pratley 27, Bauza 89):
A good result, giving the advantage of a lead to us going into the second leg. I was disappointed to concede right at the end, especially after we could easily have had 4 or 5 in truth.

The final game was set to be a great game as two good teams faced off at The Liberty Stadium in Swansea. The prize was a place in the playoff final against Ipswich (who I do not like after Jon Stead scored a hattrick in me earlier in the season to turn 2 - 0 into 2 - 3).

The Final Hurdle:

Leon Britton got the Swans off to the perfect start when he seized on a moment of confusion in the Reading defence to literally walk the ball into the net. Reading responded immediately as Sol Campbell forced a corner past the Swansea keeper to equalise, and restore the Royals' lead on aggregate.

Swansea (3) 1 - 1 (4) Reading

Disaster struck for Reading after 23 minutes however, when Craig Beattie broke the Reading offside trap to put in an easy second goal for Swansea. 4 minutes later he doubled his tally with another poor goal to concede (running from his own half after a poor Reading corner), putting Swansea ahead on aggregate.

Swansea (5) 3 - 1 (4) Reading

After half time, Reading put another striker on, and went all out to try and get a goal. This looked like it was going to pay off before Swansea hit Reading on the break yet again, Alan Tate with the goal this time. Another was added soon after by Leon Britton as the Swans ran away with the game. As chants of "sacked in the morning" rang around the Liberty Stadium, Bauza grabbed the final goal in the demolition job, as an awful display from Reading - and another match conceding 6 goals - put paid to their chances of playing Premier League football next year.

Swansea (8) 6 - 1 (4) Reading

In an interview after the game, Reading manager Adam Coldrick said:

"I am disappointed in the players today. We had a great advantage going into this game, both mentally and with the scoreline. However, when we went 3 - 1 down we seemed to give up and Swansea just ran away with it. All credit to the Swansea players though, they showed great character to win so emphatically."

He concluded by admitting that he thought his side had underachieved this season, and said that he would love to have another attempt at gaining promotion next season with the club, but could understand if the board thought that he was not the man for the job after this season.

By the way, West Brom won the league, with Newcastle in second a point behind. The playoff final has yet to be played. Chelsea won the Premier League for anyone that is interested.

This has knocked my plans for the long term off schedule. They were based on how I did on 09, but the quality of the opposition in the Championship this season is much greater (Newcastle, West Brom instead of Birmingham, Wolves), and the Reading squad nowhere near as good, having lost their best players either on loan or to bigger clubs in summer, not to mention the difference in transfer budget from £5million to £200,000. Overall, I am not too disappointed in this season's outcome, but would have liked to get promoted.

On the plus side I randomly sprouted £1.3million in my transfer budget sometime in April, completely unannounced. I assume it must have come from a clause in a transfer somewhere from the summer. I used it to balance my wage budget somewhat, and have got about £980k left in my transfer budget for next season.

 

[SotK]

Pre-season Review

There has been a mixed bag of results in the pre-season games this year, some good performances, and some really awful results as well.

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The obvious highlight is the 1 - 0 win over a full strength Arsenal side. I was delighted with this result. I was also pleased with the draws against Birmingham and Hibernian.

On the transfer/contract front, I was offered a new 2 year deal, which I accepted. Marek Matejovsky expressed his desire to move onto bigger things, and demanded a transfer. This was disappointing, but cashing in on him now would bring extra funds to get a long term replacement. He moved to Napoli for £4m. I also offloaded some fringe players in an effort to reduce my wage budget.

In June, rumours were flying around that I was in the market for out-of-favour Palermo striker Davide Succi. I took a look at him and decided to put in an offer using my money that came from nowhere. He had an asking price of £500k, but for some reason Palermo held out to everyone interested for a price of £1.2m. I offered this, using monthly installments for a portion of it. He signed not long later, rejecting an offer from Zenit, and becoming my highest paid player in the process.
View attachment 26379

I also brought in Jonjo Shelvey using the proceeds from Matejovsky leaving and some future incentives to fill the gap in the team left by the latter's departure. I resigned David N'Gog on loan for another season, hoping that he can for a partnership with Succi in the diamond formation I have been trying out in pre-season. Finally, I brought in Fran Mérida on a season long loan from Arsenal, to provide depth across the middle of the park.
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Liam Rosenior and James Harper returned from Ipswich and Sheffield United respectively, and this has boosted my squad's depth. Rosenior is thinking about wanting a new challenge though so he may not be staying much longer. I tried to sign Ryan Bertrand who had been at the club on loan last season after he was released by Chelsea, but he chose to join Fulham instead.

As July was nearing its end, I was very glad I had finished my transfer dealings when I read these messages:
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Hopefully I won't actually be replaced as manager, but I can't be certain . On FM09 a consortium took me over in this season as well, and were threatening to replace me with Paul Jewell, but they didn't in the end. I hope the same happens here.

Final Transfer Dealings:
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By the way, is anyone still reading this? If they aren't then I'll stop updating as it would appear to be a waste of time .

 

[leedsunited1987]

sign Barazite he assisted 16 goals for my preston team( follow my story on "accrington Stanley who are they"

 

[SotK]

I tried to get Barazite on loan before I went for Mérida but Arsenal wanted 100% wage contribution and my board would only allow 30% . I'll take a look at your story now .

 

[SotK]

Reading August Review - Exclusively in the Reading Evening Post

View attachment 26571

A decent start to their second season under rookie manager Adam Coldrick has left Reading in 4th position as the transfer window slams shut. Coldrick will now have to manage with this team until January, but the signings he did make before the board of directors imposed a transfer embargo on the club have shown that they are brilliant pieces of business.

A scintillating first month in England for Davide Succi has left him top of the Coca-Cola Championship scoring charts with a great 6 goals in 5 league games. Coldrick's other big signing this summer was 18 year old Jonjo Shelvey from League 1 outfit Charlton. He has shown in recent games that he is more than capable at this level, and has shown his fantastic potential for the future, with 2 goals in his last 2 games. Fran Mérida has shown in his few games that he has plenty to offer the club this season, whilst David N'Gog is already a fan favourite at Reading after his 21 league goals on loan with the Royals last season fired them into the playoffs. It is rumoured that Succi has set his sights on beating that tally, and on current form it looks like he could well do so.

Director of Football/Head Scout Nicky Hammond left the club this month, to further his career at Sunderland. The Reading management wish him well and good luck for the rest of his career. Sir John Madejski also left the club towards the end of this month leaving a good legacy behind him when the club was subject to a board takeover from a consortium led by Andrew Bernhardt.

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Liam Rosenior has been linked with a move away from the club recently, and his comments to the media seemed to confirm these rumours.

View attachment 26566

August Results - with the Manager's Opinion

CH: Reading 6 - 1 Bristol City (Harper 11, Succi 14, 19, 34, 50, Shelvey 42, Clarkson 21):

A barnstorming performance from Davide Succi smashed Bristol City's resistance as the team predicted to finish 7th in the league by the bookies shot to the top of the table after the first match day by playing their opposition off the park. Reading's rivals Bristol City couldn't withstand Succi's flawless finishing as he took the derby by the scruff of its proverbial neck and led the domination.

Coldrick Says: I am delighted with this win. It was a great way to kick off the season, and Davide Succi justified a good proportion of his transfer fee in just this one performance. Shelvey scored the pick of the goals with a 25 yard free kick. Both he and Succi were amazing on their debuts today.

Fans' Opinion: The fans are delighted with the win over their rivals. Not a bad word was heard against the Reading team after this match, with fans apparently hoping that if the impending takeover bid is successful Coldrick is allowed to stay on as manager.


LC: Reading 1 - 0 Yeovil (Mills 55):

A laboured win over a far inferior Reading side, this game brought the fans back down to earth after the demolition of Bristol City. Mills got the only goal of the game with a thumping header after 55 minutes. The Royals were always in control and should probably have had more goals to their name.

Coldrick Says: A win is a win at the end of the day, but I would have preferred to win by the margin suggested in the press beforehand. I think we controlled the game, and we were never in danger of losing. Despite this, I would still have liked the insurance that comes with more than one goal.

Fans' Opinion: The fans appear to be in agreement with the Royals' manager that a win is a win at the end of the day. They too would have liked the finishing from Reading to be better though, as they had arrived at the match expecting another demolition.


CH: Watford 2 - 0 Reading (Cowie 71, Hoskins 84):

A poor performance from the Royals gave them a first league defeat of the season, and dropped them right down the table to 10th position. Once Watford went ahead, the result was never in doubt. With a board takeover in progress, this was not the kind of result manager Adam Coldrick needed.

Coldrick Says: We were poor today. Once we went behind, I threw everything forward to get an equaliser, but it backfired and we got caught out on the break. Fair play to Watford, they were by far the better team on the day.

Fans' Opinion: The quality of finishing (or lack of it) from the Royals today once again gave the Reading fans a cause for concern. This time however, the problem was highlighted by a slumping defeat.


CH: Reading 2 - 2 Derby (Kébé 15, Tabb 31, Teale 28, Barker 33):

Straight off the back of their first league defeat came the Royals' first league draw of the season. This match demonstrated a trait that became a worrying feature of their games towards the tail end of last season; that is an inability to keep hold of a lead.

Coldrick Says: I am glad to come back from the loss at Watford with a decent performance and a point. I would have preferred all three, but our defence was poor today, and the old adage of being most vulnerable when you have just scored came true. These things happen in football. We will be looking to bounce back with a win against Cardiff on Saturday.

Fans' Opinion: The fans today were pleased that the team had improved their finishing in today's match, some stating that they were glad they had a manager they believe listens to the opinion of the supporters. However, they were disappointed at the way the team threw away the lead twice, and see this as the kind of game they need to win if they are to achieve promotion.


CH: Cardiff 1 - 1 Reading (Succi 24, Whittingham 82):

A good performance up until the last 10 minutes gave Reading a point today, in a match they were unlucky to not win. Having dominated the first half, and the first half hour in the second, Cardiff exerted immense pressure on Reading for the last 15/20 minutes of the match. With the Royals unable to get the ball out of their half for most of this time, they eventually cracked and conceded a late equaliser.

Coldrick Says: I am glad that we got a point, as Cardiff is always a tough place to come. I wish we could have held out for all three points, but the pressure from Cardiff was too much. I am disappointed with conceding at the end, but we have to deal with these things.

Fans' Opinion: The fans are very upset at giving away a late equaliser after leading for so long. They see two points dropped here, rather than one gained as the manager seemed to claim.


LC: Torquay 0 - 2 Reading (Kébé 24, Shelvey 29):

Reading got back to winning ways against a mediocre Torquay side in a match they dominated from start to finish. Summer signing Shelvey was back among the goals today for the first time since the opening day of the season.

Coldrick Says: I am happy with the performance here, although I feel we should have got more goals. Despite that, I am pleased with the way the players got ahead and then controlled the game in a sensible manner. A good result, and I now we have achieved our aim of reaching the 3rd round in this competition.

Fans' Opinion: The fans are pleased with a win here, but agree that more goals would have been good. They are happy to have progressed to the next round which contains the top sides in the country. Some have mentioned they want Arsenal in the 3rd round, hoping to have a repeat of the pre-season game between the sides.


CH: Reading 2 - 1 Millwall(Succi 49, Shelvey 51, Grimes 82):

A good result for Reading from a match in which the Royals had 3 goals disallowed in the first half hour, and 2 disallowed in the first 3 minutes of the game. This shows the level of domination achieved over newly-promoted Millwall during most of the game.

Coldrick Says: I am delighted to get the three points today, and think that if the linesman had been awake for our third disallowed goal it would have been more. The first two I thought were bad decisions at the time but having seen the replays agree with the referee. The third one however should have stood in my opinion as our player was clearly onside, and there were no other infringements made. Overall, I am very pleased with the way we carried on even when luck seemed to be against us.

Fans' Opinion: The fans are pleased with the performance, and the frustration caused to them in the first half was no fault of the players. They would have liked a clean sheet, but are glad to be winning again.


Monthly Summary - with Reading Monthly Awards

Some great goals were scored by Reading players this month, with Jonjo Shelvey's 25 yard free kick, Jimmy Kébé's 25 yard curler and James Harper's 30 yard daisycutter among the best of them. The Reading Goal of the Month Award goes to Jimmy Kébé, for his stunning goal from 25 yards, which also won Coca-Cola Championship Goal of the Month.

View attachment 26570

Fans of the Royals witnessed some good performances from their team in August, but the undoubted winner of the Reading Match of the Month Award is the fantastic derby result Reading 6 - 1 Bristol City. Reading seemed like they were a different class to Bristol City all game.

View attachment 26577

A lot of Reading players were fantastic this month, with newcomers Jonjo Shelvey and Davide Succi both thought to be likely to win the Reading Player of the Month Award. Jimmy Kébé and Sol Campbell also thought to be in with a shout. The eventual winner was the player who came second in the race for Coca-Cola Championship Player of the Month, Italian striker Davide Succi.

View attachment 26578

Other important happenings this month include the new chairman giving manager Adam Coldrick his full backing, and pumping £6m into the club. Coldrick is said to be delighted that the Mr Bernhardt has faith in him to deliver in the long term, and also pleased that there was so much support for him from the other staff at the club. Dressing room morale is said to be very high at the moment, with good relationships building between the players.

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What do you all think of the new layout? Is it worth me going into so much depth everywhere because it takes a while to type it all out, but I am more than happy to do it if it improves the story. Also, please give me comments on anything of interest you see in my updates, its better if people read and comment rather than just read it because I get more of an idea of how many people actually bother to look at it .

 

[leedsunited1987]

have west ham had a takeover in your game because i am sure ur chairman was theirs

 

[SotK]

You're right they have. And Andrew Bernhardt was the guy who left.

 

[leedsunited1987]

i thought it was... any way ur doing well keep it up especially the 6-1 thrashing of Bristol city

 

[SotK]

Reading September Review
Exclusively in the Reading Evening Post​

View attachment 26920

A topsy turvy month has left the Royals in 3rd position in the Coca-Cola Championship with a game in hand over Preston who go into October in second place, 2 points ahead of Reading. The month started well with a surprise victory at Turf Moor over recently relegated Burnley, where a Man of the Match performance from explosive winger Jimmy Kébé helped to earn a 3 - 1 win for the Royals.

View attachment 26915

The undoubted low point of the month was exiting the League Cup at the hands of Nottingham Forest, losing 4 - 6 after extra time. To make matters worse for Reading, they had been 3 - 1 up in the second half, but two lapses in concentration took the game to extra time.

Reading are rumoured to be in process of signing West Ham winger Junior Stanislas on loan for the rest of the season. These rumours are given weight due to the link between the two clubs, in which West Ham loan players to the Royals. David Hamilton has replaced Nicky Hammond as the leader of the Reading scouting team, with Barry Whitbread and Simon Hunt also joining the scouting team.

View attachment 26918

Right back Ivan Bandalovski has been ruled out for up to 4 months with a torn hamstring, but enthusiastic midfielder Jem Karacan is close to returning after his 5 month absence with a broken leg.

View attachment 26913 View attachment 26914

Reading manager Adam Coldrick was revealed to be the runner up for the September Manager of the Month Award in the Coca-Cola Championship, with Sam Allardyce just beating him to the prize.

View attachment 26917

September Results​

Spotlight Game:
CH: Burnley 1 - 3 Reading:
View attachment 26919

Reading smashed Burnely on their home turf in this game, with Jimmy Kébé the difference between the two sides. Along with the winger's goal, a third goal from Jonjo Shelvey in as many games and a solid header from Sol Campbell made the points safe for the Royals. Burnley had put themselves back in the game after 57 minutes, but Reading captain Campbell made sure the Royals kept all three points with his header.

Coldrick Says: I am delighted with the lads today. They put in a fantastic performance, especially as Burnley are tipped to challenge for the title this year. I have special praise for Jonjo, who is kept up his fine form again in this match, and also for Jimmy Kébé who was undoubtedly the difference today.

Fans' Opinion: The fans are overjoyed with the victory over Burnley. They are especially pleased with the number of chances created, and the general level of domination Reading enjoyed over a good Burnley side.

Other Games:

CH: Reading 2 - 0 Sheffield United (Succi 6, Kébé 77):

Reading put in a good performance to deny underachieving Sheffield United anything from their away trip to the Madejski. Reading controlled the match from start to finish, and the Blades were blunt going forward, as well as poor in defence.

CH: Coventry 1 - 3 Reading (Barber 83, Mérida 5, 49, Succi 73):

Fran Mérida's first two goals in a Reading shirt set the Royals on their way to a 5th straight win in all competitions. When Succi added a third for the Berkshire outfit, the points were on their way to Reading. A first away clean sheet of the season in the league wasn't to be though, as Rafael Barber grabbed a consolation for Coventry with 7 minutes left.

LC: Reading 4 - 6 Nottingham Forest (AET):

View attachment 26906

A good first half display at the Madejski saw Reading 2 - 1 up at half time. They got a two goal cushion moments into the second half, but managed to throw their lead away with a poor second half. In the end, they succumbed to a high-flying Forest side, and on the showing in the second half and extra time, the Royals deserved to crash out here. Manager Adam Coldrick is said to be fuming at his players for letting such a good lead slip, and the manner of conceding a last minute equaliser.

CH: Reading 2 - 2 Preston (Kébé 44, Henry pen 61, Mellor 6, Gerardo 26:

A good fightback against fellow promotion challengers Preston, a plucky second have performance from the Royals salvaged a draw in a match that was very much a game of two halves. Kébé's goal moments before half time gave the momentum to Reading going into the second half, and they were finally put back on terms after Neil Mellor pushed Davide Succi over in the penalty area, and James Henry fired in the penalty.

CH: Wigan 2 - 2 Reading (Scotland 60, 67, Succi 26, 78):

Reading were once again made to fight for a point, this time away at league favourites Wigan. A brace from Davide Succi cancelled out 2 goals from Jason Scotland as Reading took a point home with them.

Monthly Summary
With September Awards​

There was only one stand-out goal scored by a Reading player this month, and that was the goal for Jonjo Shelvey against Burnley. He did well to get free of the defence, and fired a great shot past the Burnley keeper. He wins the Reading Goal of the Month Award for this effort.

There was also only one main contender for the Reading Match of the Month Award this month as well. This went to Burnley 1 - 3 Reading because it was a fantastic result against one of the best sides in the league.

Jimmy Kébé and Davide Succi were again among the contenders for the Reading Player of the Month Award, with Fran Mérida considered a possible winner as well. However, the award went to explosive winger Jimmy Kébé, the man who also won the Coca-Cola Championship Player of the Month Award.

View attachment 26916

Coldrick's position as manager is said to be very secure at the moment, with both the fans and the board delighted with the team's overall performance this month.

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Feedback on which layout I should use will be much appreciated (The original one with just scores from each month with a little summary, the second one with in depth summaries for each match and info about other things in that month, or the one used in this update, with one in depth match summary, and the others less detailed.)

I hope to sit in the auto slots by Christmas, if I can do that I think we should be able to hold on for the rest of the season.

 

[SotK]

Is anyone still bothering to look at this or should I stop updating it?

 

[swfc1234]

carry on mate i will follow

 

[SamScfc]

Nah keep goin, I was just gonna say I was followin, seems good

 

[SotK]

Ok then . I'll have finished October by sometime tomorrow I expect. Hopefully November as well since its not a morning I have to get up early on.

 

[SotK]

Sorry the update never materialised, I got busy with exams and the like. I'll do a big update at the end of the season. For now I'll just say my signing from the start of the season Davide Succi has hit 36 goals in 38 games, and I'm second in the league, 6 points behind Blackburn who are in 1st, and 7 points ahead of Notts Forest who are in third. And there are only 12 games to go .

 

[SotK]

Davide Succi Fires Reading into the Premier League!

View attachment 30667​

When Davide Succi smashed in a 41st minute penalty to make the three points secure against Scunthorpe, the Italian striker's 42nd goal of the season for the Royals (his 39th in the league) also clinched promotion for Reading with 2 games left of the season. Having not moved out of second place since knocking Nottingham Forest out of the auto-promotion slot on match day 27. With 2 gams left in the season, the Royals manager arguably has a right to be disappointed not to be top, after his side have picked up a stunning total of 94 points from 44 games. West Brom won the league in the 09/10 season with 92 points from 46 games.

Winning the title is still mathematically possible for Reading, as they are 6 points off Blackburn, who have racked up an outstanding 100 points so far, but need not only Blackburn to lose their last 2 games and Reading to win them both, the Royals also have to make up a goal difference disadvatage of 16 goals. Despite being the highest scoring team in the league so far with 103 goals, the Royals have also conceded 64.

View attachment 30668

Reading manager Adam Coldrick talked to a crowd of interviewers after the Scunthorpe game as his side clinched promotion.

Interviewer: What do you have to say about the apparent rift between the management and Jem Karacan?

Coldrick: I don't have any concerns about a rift. There is no trouble at all. He was upset by my reaction to an awful performance by the team at Leicester, but has been more than happy to put the matter behind him, since he saw that concentrating on winning promotion is the most important thing here.

Interviewer: You mention that winning promotion is important this year, how do you feel about assuring yourself of Premier League football next year with 2 games to go, after you were predicted to finish mid table by the bookies?

Coldrick: Of course to win promotion is important, and to do it with games to spare is a fantastic achievement by the team. I know that we were expected to miss out on even the playoffs this season, but I always thought we could prove everyone wrong, and the lads have done fantastically to do so. I am very glad we managed to confirm promotion before the match next Saturday against Forest, as if we had lost that game it would have been a very nervous last day of the season. The neutrals will probably be less happy though, as the Forest game would have been a brilliant game to watch if there had been automatic promotion riding on its result.

Interviewer: How do you feel about racking up 94 points already, which is 2 more than last year's champions, but still being 6 points off the top?

Coldrick: I expect some people would say I have a right to feel aggrieved not to be likely to win the league with this total, but personally I think it shows just how well Blackburn have done this season. They were relegated last year, and I fully expected them to be challenging for the title this season, but to bounce back in the way they look like doing is really great. Well done to them. Despite this, I would like to have won the league this year, as our performances really did deserve the title of champions at times.

Interviewer: You mentioned you think some of your performances were befitting of champions, but how many times have you been worried your team might throw it away at the last moment this season?

Coldrick: I have always had the utmost confidence in my players to get us promoted this season, and they have duly delivered. The Leicester and Middlesbrough games had people muttering that we weren't good enough, or that we were getting nervous as we approached crunch time, but I think that the two wins over Blackburn show that we have plenty of character for the big games, and the way we bounced back from setbacks, such as the two 4 - 2 defeats I mentioned near the end of the season shows that we deserve to be where we are in the league.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time, and congratulations.on securing promotion to the big time.

"April Fool" Signings For Reading

On 1st April, Reading wowed their fans by announcing the signing of midfielder Ignacio Camacho from Athletico Madrid and promising goalkeeper Joshua Campo from Barcelona, for £1m and £625k respectively. The statement said that both players would be joining on 1st July 2011. A number of Reading fans thought that this must be a joke, due to the day of the statement, but when it remained on the website, it became clear that these two players were actually signing for the club.

Manager Adam Coldrick is said to be delighted with these two players, both brilliant prospects for the future, and has stated that he will be glad to welcome them to the club when the transfer window re-opens. They will join a third Spanish youngster at the club, Pablo Alvarez, a promising striker signed from Alcorcon in the January window. Fans of the Royals will be hoping that these players can have a similar impact to that of Jonjo Shelvey and Davide Succi this season.

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Just got my youth intake and transfer budgets etc for the new season, and this guy was in the players that came into my youth team:
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Touted as the next Owen Hargreaves, my assistant says he has the potential to be one of the best players of his generation.

Transfer budget has been set at £17m for my target of avoiding relegation. I am looking into signing Zoran Tosic and Gary Cahill, and probably need another quality striker, thinking about trying to get N'Gog on a permanent deal.

 

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Does anyone have any ideas on who I could sign? Or just any other comments?

 

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Breaking News

The Reading management have announced that former club captain Sol Campbell will be leaving the club with immediate effect via mutual termination of his contract. The revelation is the latest twist in a long running saga that began when he was replaced by Davide Succi as captain. His contract was terminated just hours after he unleashed a scathing attack on manager Adam Coldrick whilst talking to a local journalist, branding the manager "inadequate" and saying he didn't think that the manager was good enough for the team. Campbell is the latest player to be leaving the club under a cloud after Khalifa Cisse requested a transfer due to feeling that there is too much competition before leaving to AJ Auxerre for a fee of £2.4m.

Positive news for Reading fans is that Swiss 'keeper Diego Benaglio has signed from Wolfsburg for £2.8m, joining fellow new signings David N'Gog and Gary Cahill at the Madejski Stadium. Reading currently lie 9th in the Barclays Premier League after a decent start, losing 2 - 0 away to Aston Villa, but then pulling off a sensational 2 - 1 win at home to European Champions Tottenham Hotspur.

---------- Post added at 07:13 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 04:31 PM ----------

Reading Pre-Season Interview
Exclusively in the Reading Evening Post​

Coldrick Talks - Exclusive in-depth interview

When Sol Campbell announced his retirement, and then a week later was replaced by Davide Succi as captain there was inevitably going to be arguments behind the scenes at the club. The situation progressed with Sol Campbell publicly stating his anger at being removed as captain. However, this was not a move that the rest of the squad followed, with many members of the squad giving their full backing to Coldrick's decision to appoint Succi as captain. The Italian striker spoke of how he hoped that Campbell could put the events behind him and move on, but that didn't look like happening. When quizzed on the situation behind the scenes, Coldrick simply said he thought it would be resolved sooner rather than later.

When Campbell said to a journalist from The Daily Mail that he considered his manager Coldrick's man-management skills to be "inadequate", and that he had a very low opinion of his overall managerial ability it was obvious that the quarrel was soon to reach a conclusion. Only hours after the news was made public by numerous newspapers, fresh news broke stating that Campbell's contract at the club had been terminated with immediate effect, as a result of the ongoing saga. Coldrick commented on the situation to the Reading Post saying that he was not prepared to have anyone disrupting the harmony in the dressing room, especially given that this season is likely to be hard enough anyway. With the international break looming, Coldrick looks back with us over an eventful pre-season and first taste of the big time.

Interviewer is in bold type.

Coldrick is in italic type.


Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today Mr Coldrick. I'd like to start by saying congratulations on your great start to life in the Premier League. What do you think of your team's early season form, and how well do you expect to do this season?

Well, I obviously hope that we can come in solidly in mid-table and that would be a fantastic achievement. Realistically, I think we can definitely avoid relegation this season with the squad we have here. I am delighted to have some top quality players in my team. As to the great start, I think that, although it has been good, it has been overhyped a bit. We are sitting in 8th position after 4 games, and whilst that is good I think in some games we could have performed better. Pundits usually say that its home form that keeps teams in the division when they are newly promoted, and hopefully that will be true if we can keep the wins coming at home. The wins over Spurs and Man City were stunning results for our club and I must admit that the win over City was very sweet for me since I am a Manchester United fan. Despite these results, the 2 - 1 defeat at Bolton was hard to take, as I think that we deserved at least a point. I think that a very dubious decision by Lee Probert to give them a penalty for what I thought to be absolutely nothing really put us on the back foot. I am glad we gave it a go though, we need to learn how to get results away from home or it will be a very hard season.

Some Reading fans have gone so far as to say that Lee Probert has something against your side, after that poor penalty decision against Bolton was followed by a red card given to Chris Armstrong in his next match, against Manchester City. Do you agree with this?

Asolutely not. I think it is really strange to accuse a referee of having an agenda against a club. I agree with the red card, he made two challenges which both deserved yellow cards, and duly got them. The penalty was just a human error. Everyone makes mistakes, and it just so happened that Lee made one against us.

Could you give us any further insight into the internal problems with Khalifa Cisse and Sol Campbell that went on this summer?

Cisse was unhappy at the amount of competition for a first team place, understandably. I understood his concerns, and asked him to reconsider demanding to leave, but he said that he believed he needed to move on to further his career. I understood his concerns, and he left the club not particularly unhappy, and we all wish him the best of luck in the future. He has been great during his time here.

Campbell was unhappy with my decision to give the captaincy to Davide Succi rather than himself, a decision both myself and the backroom team thought long and hard about and made with the club's future in our minds.. He then spent a good while moaning to various people about how he was disillusioned with life at the club, and despite everyone here's best efforts to console him - or make him shut up at least - he was continually causing disruption to an otherwise fantastic atmosphere at the club. When he spoke to a national newspaper launching a personal attack on me I had simply had enough, and told the board that I was not willing to have a player disrupting the team and badmouthing me and the backroom team in public for nothing more than a personal grudge. They agreed that it was best for the everyone if he was to leave the club with immediate effect, and Sol was all too happy to accept our offer to terminate his contract with us. I wish him good luck in any future ventures.

A lot of managers would have kept very quiet about this kind of thing. What has made you be so open about matters?

I simply believe that the fantastic supporters we have here have a right to know the circumstances behind the leaving of these players, rather than just the half-truths and rumours put about by the papers. After they have shown loyalty and confidence with us, I think that loyalty should be replaced and there should be very few secrets between the fans of a club and the club about situations like this - doing so only causes confusion and frustration to the fans.

Tell us about your new signings, and why you have brought them to the club.

I brought Diego Benaglio to the club as we needed a top top quality 'keeper to compete in this league. Adam Federici is a great player in his own right, but I think that Diego adds that extra bit of Premier League class and experience at the top level to our squad.

Joshua Campo was brought to us since he is a fantastic prospect for the future, and I can see him being a big star one day. He was also available cheaply, so it was a simple decision to bring him here.

Gary Cahill was unwanted at Man Utd, and so I was delighted to be able to snap him up for a mere £3.5m. He is a great player and has experience at the top level. I am delighted to welcome him to the club to strengthen our defence.

Kieran Gibbs on loan from Arsenal is another deal made to strengthen the squad. He is a good player and very versatile. He can play all up the left side of the pitch, and that kind of versatility is something good to have in a player.

Ignacio Camacho joined us from Athletico Madrid for a great price of £1m. I am delighted with this deal, as he is a very skilled player and can become fantastic in our midfield.

David N'Gog was signed from Liverpool after impressing me in the two seasons he spent with us on loan in the Championship. We needed a striker with both Noel Hunt and Shane Long leaving and I saw David as the perfect man for the job. He is delighted to be here after he thoroughly enjoyed his two loan spells with us,

What can you say about the rumours of a massive debt beginning to pile up?

I can say its just rumours. Of course the monthly accounts show that we have made a loss, but that comes from spending £13.2m on signing players, and only recuperating a small portion of that. However, in Andrew Bernhardt I think we have a sensible chairman who is not afraid to help us out if the situation was to become dire. I can assure everyone that the financial situation here is fine, the only debt is the debt that was already here when I took over, and that has reduced considerably.

Finally, lets talk about the future of the Royals. People are raving over some of the youngsters you have brought in this year, what is your opinion of the quality there?

I can tell you that there are some fantastic prospects here. In our youth intake this year there are some really good players, and Lee Walker in particular stands out as a great find. He is already a good player and has come straight into the first team, and has potential to go onto great things, like the media say. People are touting him as the next Owen Hargreaves, and that's great for the lad. He is happy to be so highly rated, and I am delighted to have him here. The future is bright.

Thank you for your time, and good luck in the future.

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August results will be up as soon as I take screenshots of them, which will be when I open FM next

 

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August Results

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A solid start to like in the top flight has left the Royals in 8th position after 4 league games this month. Wins against league favourites Man City and European Champions Tottenham coupled with defeats away at Aston Villa and Bolton have left Reading with 6 points from 4 games.

EPL: Aston Villa 2 - 0 Reading (Collins 11, Sidwell 17):

Reading got a taste of how hard life in the Premier League can be at Villa Park on the opening day. James Collins got Villa off to a perfect start scoring a header after just 11 minutes, and then former Reading midfielder Steve Sidwell scored a placed shot to seal the points before 20 minutes. The rest of the game was scrappy play, with both teams creating only a few chances.

EPL: Reading 2 - 1 Tottenham (Succi 16, N'Gog 59, Pavlyuchenko 38):

The first home Premier League game for Reading gave the Royals fans a dream result as they overcame European Champions Tottenham. This fantastic win is the kind of bonus which could be vital at the end of the season.

EPL: Bolton 2 - 1 Reading (Luchin pen 43, Muamba 83, Harper 45+1):

As Reading dominated the first 40 minutes, but failed to score, a controversial penalty decision has been blamed for turning this game around. Luchin converted the penalty that was given for an alleged push in the box, which could not be seen on TV replays, indicating the referee got the decision wrong. Reading replied quickly; Harper scoring a magnificent free-kick that curled over the keeper into the far corner. Muamba won it for Bolton late on after a largely poor second half.

LC: Reading 4 - 0 Brighton (Shelvey 8, Pearce 44, 59, Alvarez 69):

A dominant performance by centre-back Alex Pearce sent Reading into the 3rd Round of the League Cup as a weakened Reading side gave full debuts to promising youngsters Pablo Alvarez, Lee Walker and Joshua Campo. Alvarez capped off a fine move to get the fourth goal of the game after an assist from Jonjo Shelvey. Shelvey had opened the scoring just 8 minutes in with a great effort from the edge of the area.

EPL: Reading 2 - 1 Man City (Kébé 11, Shelvey 56, Robinho 53):

Reading's home form continued here with another brilliant result, this time against league favourites Man City. Once the Royals scored early on, they coasted through the game until Robinho equalised for the Citizens. Shelvey scored the winner with his second goal in two games, and Reading's position only looked to be under threat after 86 minutes when Armstrong was sent off for a second yellow. A great display from 'keeper Diego Benaglio was enough to secure all three points for the Royals in the end.