LATEST NEWS ON 'The Royals'
NOVEMBER 2001
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  • 30th November 2001 - New Deals for Young Stars

    • Young Royals starlets Nicky Shorey, Jamie Ashdown and Nathan Tyson are all expected to open contract talks for a new deal very shortly.

  • 30th November 2001 - Salako / Malessa Deals

    • John Salako has signed for a 2nd month on loan with the Royals and will be available for the home game against Chesterfield. However, Watson will be playing his last game for Reading tomorrow and has been recalled by Rotherham boss Ronnie Moore.

    Meanwhile, Royals have signed goalkeeper Tony Malessa on a non-contract basis as cover for Jamie Ashdown, who will be taking over the keepers jersey against Chesterfield due to Phil Whitehead's injury.

  • 27th November 2001 - It's York In The Cup

    • York City beat Colchester United on penalties in their FA Cup 1st Round Replay tonight, and will now play host to the Royals in the 2nd Round on December 8th.

  • 27th November 2001 - Keeper Out For 6 Weeks

    • Royals have been rocked by yet another injury blow. Keeper Phil Whitehead will be sidelined for between 4 and 6 weeks after tearing a muscle in his kicking leg during the victory against Peterborough. Jamie Ashdown is likely to step into the first team, but Reading will be desperately short of cover and may not be able to field a substitute keeper. They would like to sign another keeper on loan but this is complicated on two fronts. Firstly, Royals are keen to extend the loan deals of Watson and Salako, which would mean that a further loan signing would not be permitted under league rules (a maximum of 2 loanees are permitted at any given time). Secondly, clubs are reluctant to release goalkeepers on loan deals as they require the cover for this specialist position themselves. It will be a quandary for manager Alan Pardew to try and solve. The problem may be made easier if Reading can secure Salako on a permanent deal.

  • 24th November 2001 - Darius At The Double

    • The Royals continued their winning streak with a last gasp victory at Peterborough. A brace of goals from substitute Darius Henderson, taking his personal tally to 9 goals, saw Reading come back from a goal behind to secure the 3 points. In a thrilling end-to-end encounter, Royals fell behind in only the 6th minute. Reading dominated most of the possession and had a string of corners in the first half, but Posh were always dangerous on the break. For the 3rd game in succession, Reading's opponents were reduced to 10 men and Royals made the advantage count. Henderson's first goal came from a Salako cross just eight minutes from time. With 4 minutes of added time being played, Reading were not settling for a point and their bravery was rewarded when Darius popped up at the far post to head home the winner.

  • 20th November 2001 - Royals 4 Rovers 1

    • Reading trounced Tranmere Rovers at the MadStad to record their 9th win in 10 games. As on Saturday, the visitors had a player sent off - this time for striking out with an arm. The Royals, though, really made their numerical advantage count and played some excellent flowing football. An entertaining game was enriched by the superb quality of 2 goals from Nicky Forster. Neil Smith had given Reading the leading shortly after the sending off, tapping in from close range from Forster's cross. Then came the first of Fozzy's wonder strikes, cutting inside the defender and unleashing a fierce drive from the edge of the box. His second goal, and Royals' 3rd, was even better. He raced into the corner of the box and smacked an unstoppable shot across the keeper and into the net. Tranmere pulled one back before Darius Henderson completed the rout 4 minutes from time.

  • 18th November 2001 - 2nd Round Draw

    • Reading have been drawn away to either Colchester Utd or York City in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup, due to be played on December 8th. The Full draw is as follows:
  • Orient v Lincoln or Bury
  • Scunthorpe v Brentford
  • Canvey Island v Northampton
  • Whitby / Plymouth v Aldershot / Bristol R
  • Tranmere v Barnet / Carlisle
  • Wycombe v Cambridge Utd / Notts Co.
  • Colchester / York v READING
  • Exeter v Dagenham & Redbridge
  • Bedford Town / Peterborough v Bournemouth
  • Swindon v Hereford
  • Altrincham / Lancaster v Darlington
  • Hinckley Utd v Cheltenham
  • Mansfield v Huddersfield
  • Chesterfield v Southend
  • Hull City v Oldham / Barrow
  • Cardiff v Port Vale
  • Blackpool / Newport Co. v Tamworth / Rochdale
  • Macclesfield / Forest Green v Swansea
  • Brighton v Rushden & Diamonds
  • Halifax v Stoke

  • 15th November 2001 - Wings Clipped

    • The Royals progressed to the 2nd Round of the FA Cup with a 1:0 victory over the Wings of Welling. In an uninspiring game, a solitary goal from Jamie Cureton on the hour was enough to see Reading home. A very disappointing Welling showed asolutely no ambition whatsoever. Even when behind they made no genuine effort to try and score a goal. Although they were reduced to 10 men for the whole of the second half when they had a player stupidly sent off for 2 bookings, it made no difference to the game as they simply put another player behind the ball. Their sole intention for the afternoon was that of damage limitation. Not surprisingly, Royals had all of the play but a lack of quality with the final ball meant they only had the one goal to show for their efforts. Still, it is enough to put us in the hat for the 2nd Round draw and Welling got exactly what they deserved - fuck all.

  • 15th November 2001 - Euro 2004

    • All 51 nations affiliated to UEFA have entered Euro 2004 and the qualifying campaign will consist of 10 groups of 5 teams. The draw is due to take place at 11:00hrs on 25th January 2003 at the Europarque Congress Centre in Santa Maria de Feira, Porto.

    The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the Finals along with hosts Portugal. The 10 runners-up will then face a 2-legged play-off to decide the other 5 teams in the 16 nation tournament.

    Twelve dates have been set aside in the international calendar, on which each team must stage their 8 qualifying matches. The dates are:

    7/8 September 2002, 12/13 October 2002, 15/16 October 2002, 29/30 March 2003, 1/2 April 2003, 7/8 June 2003, 10/11 June 2003, 6/7 September 2003, 9/10 September 2003, 11/12 October 2003.
    The play-offs will take place on 15/16 November 2003 and 18/19 November 2003.

    France will automatically be top seeds. The remaining teams will be divided into 5 seeding pots on the basis of results in qualifying for World Cup 2002 and Euro 2000. The number of points gained in those qualifying tournaments will be divided by the number of matches played to determine each teams co-efficient factor. For Holland and Belgium, who co-hosted Euro 2000, only the results from their World Cup 2002 qualifying campaign will be taken into account.

  • 10th November 2001 - Euro U21 Championships

    • The European U21 Championship Finals will take place from 16th May to 28th May next year. The hosts are still to be decided but will come from one of the 8 nations that have qualified for the Finals. UEFA are currently reviewing bids from interested nations and will make a decision some time in December.

    The teams that have qualified are:

  • Italy
  • Switzerland
  • France
  • England
  • Portugal
  • Greece
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic


    • Italy are the current holders, having won the tournament in Slovakia in the summer of 2000. Indeed, the Italians have won 4 out of the last 5 U21 Championships.

  • 15th November 2001 - World Cup 2002

    • Now that 31 of the 32 teams for next year's World Cup Finals are known, I thought that I would remind you about the draw for the Finals Phase.

    The draw will take place in Busan, South Korea, at 19:00hrs local time (10:00hrs GMT) on 1st December. The full list of teams that will be competing in Japan and South Korea next summer is as follows:

    Holders (1) France
    Co-Hosts (2) Japan, South Korea
    Asia (2) China, Saudi Arabia
    North / Central America (3) Costa Rica, USA, Mexico
    South America (4) Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil
    Africa (5) South Africa, Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria
    Europe (14) England, Poland, Sweden, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Denmark, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, Belgium, Germany, Republic of Ireland
    Play-Off (1) Australia or Uruguay

    The Finals will take place from 31st May until 30th June.

  • 15th November 2001 - Gamble Stalls On New Deal

    • Promising midfielder Joe Gamble has stalled on signing a 2 year extension to his contract which currently expires next summer. The young starlet has asked for time to think over the offer, saying that "There are a number of things that I would like sorted out".

    Meanwhile, Darius Henderson is expected to agree to a 2 year extension to his contract and Royals are likely to offer a similar deal to keeper Jamie Ashdown in the near future.

  • 14th November 2001 - Loan Pair Out Of Cup Tie

    • Both loan signings, Kevin Watson and John Salako, have been prevented from playing in Saturday's FA Cup tie against Welling by their clubs. Whilst it was expected that Rotherham boss Ronnie Moore would not allow Watson to be cup-tied, it had been hoped that Charlton would allow Salako to play. Their absence is likely to see a return to the starting line-up for Alex Smith and James Harper.

  • 14th November 2001 - Young Midfielder Signs

    • Reading have snapped up 17 year Andre Boucaud from QPR. The young midfielder has been on trial with the Royals for the past 2 months and has made a good impression on the Academy bosses.

  • 10th November 2001 - Royals 3 City 2

    • The Royals recent good run continued with a 3:2 victory over fellow promotion contenders Bristol City at the Madstad. John Mackie, plauing instead of Adrian Williams who pulled out during the pre-match warm up, headed Reading into the lead on 12 minutes. City hit back to equalise in a thoroughly entertaining game, but an own goal just before the break saw Royals go in with a half-time lead. That lead was extended 6 minutes into the 2nd half when John Salako fired home a cross from Andy Hughes. But City struck back again to narrow the deficit with half an hour still remaining. Both sides continued to play attractive attacking football and the game was always in the balance. However, Royals held on for what was just about a deserved victory. That is now 6 wins in the last 7 games for Reading - long may that form continue.

  • 7th November 2001 - Butler Shocker!

    • Martin Butler will be out of action for up to 5 months after suffering a horrendous injury against Wrexham last night. In fact, last season's player of the year has picked up 3 injuries at once.
    1) His tibia and fibula bones have separated
    2) He has ruptured ankle ligaments
    3) He has fractured the fibula

    It is a devasting blow for the striker, and has happened just at the time when he seemed to be returning to his best form. I'm sure that all Royals fans would like to wish Martin a speedy recovery.

  • 7th November 2001 - Youths March On

    • Royals' Youth team overcame Southend United 2:0 in the 2nd Round of the FA Youth Cup at Roots Hall last night. They will now face either Halifax or Blackpool away in the 3rd Round.

  • 6th November 2001 - Royals 2 Red Dragons 0

    • Reading overcame Wrexham by 2 goals to nil and move up to 4th place in the table. After a drab first half with very little quality, the Royals improved during the second period and deservedly secured the 3 points against a very poor Wrexham side. However, it took a slice of good fortune to set Royals on their way. Nicky Forster, a substitute for Martin Butler who suffered what looks like a serious leg injury, raced into the right-hand side of the penalty area and fired a ball across the six-yard box. The Robins keeper tried to stop the ball and got a hand to it, only to see it spin up and into the net. Whether or not it should go down as an own goal is debatable, but the goal will be credited to Forster for what was his 100th league goal of his career. Six minutes from time, fellow substitute Darius Henderson wrapped the game up with a cool finish after running across the Wrexham back line and collecting a delightful throughball from Graeme Murty, the effort going in off the inside of the far post. Momemts earlier, Henderson had missed a guilt-edged opportunity after being put clean through by Neil Smith. Darius tamely shot straight at the grateful keeper and brought shouts of 'You Tosser' from yours truly. All is forgiven now though.

  • 3rd November 2001 - Cobblers 0 Royals 2

    • The Royals returned to winning ways with a 2:0 victory at Northampton this afternoon. Loan signings Kevin Watson and John Salako both made their debut for Reading and young Nicky Shorey retained his place at left back after impressing against Colchester on Tuesday. But there was no place for Joe Gamble who had also played so well against the U's.

    Royals controlled the first half without ever dominating and the Cobblers never had a single effort at goal in the opening 45 minutes. Cureton and Butler both spurned good opportunities to give Royals the lead and the half ended goalless.

    The second period was a much livelier affair with the home side much more prominent in attack. However, the Reading defence held firm and Shorey gave another polished performance. It was Reading who looked dangerous on the break though, with Watson spraying some nice balls from midfield. On 53 minutes, Martin Butler just managed to slip the ball up the line to Salako who had acres of space to carry the ball into before advancing into the area and squaring across goal for Cureton to give Royals the lead. Reading had to survive a few scares and Murty, who was excellent throughout, twice cleared off the line to preserve the lead. The game was made safe in the dying moments when substitute Neil Smith played a beautiful through ball for Butler to race onto and fire home Reading's second goal. It was a deserved goal for Butler who put in a much improved display and showed much more of the determination that made him last season's player of the year.

  • 2nd November 2001 - LDV 3rd Rd Draw

    • Reading have been drawn away to Barnet in the 3rd Round of the LDV Vans Trophy. The tie is due to be played week commencing 3rd December.

    Full draw:
    Southern Section
  • Barnet v READING
  • Cambridge v Brighton
  • Bristol Rovers v Dagenham & Redbridge
  • Bristol City v Peterborough

    Northern Section
  • Notts County v Oldham
  • Chesterfield v Blackpool
  • Huddersfield v Scunthorpe
  • Hull City v Port Vale

  • 1st November 2001 - Saloko / Watson On Loan

    • Reading have made 2 loan signings in an effort to boost their flagging season. Kevin Watson joins the Royals from Rotherham, and John Salako has joined from Charlton. Both are one month loan deals. Rotherham have publicly stated that there is absolutely no chance of Watson's move being made permanent, whilst the situation with John Salako may be somewhat different if he does enough to impress. Both are expected to go straight into the side for Saturday's game at Northampton, which may be a kick in the teeth for a couple of the youngsters who did so well in the LDV game on Tuesday and may have felt that they had earned their chance - in particular Joe Gamble.

  • 1st November 2001 - MAD DOG SACKED

    • Assistant Manager, Martin 'Mad Dog' Allen has sensationally been sacked by the Royals. Although the official line from the club is that Allen is at home 'on leave', it is clear that they are unable to reveal the full story whilst negotiations regarding the termination of his contract are still taking place. Reserve team manager, Kevin Dillon has stepped into the vacant position and will be on the bench alongside Pardew for the visit to Northampton on Saturday. It has been rumoured for some time that there has been unrest amongst some of the players and that Mad Dog is at the root of the problem - but don't expect any official announcement to include such a statement.