LATEST NEWS ON 'The Royals'
October 2003
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  • 29th October 2003 - Royals Draw Plum Tie

    • Reading have been given a plum tie in the last 16 of the Carling Cup. The Royals will entertain big spending Chelsea at the MadStad on Wednesday December 3rd.

  • 28th October 2003 - Late Strike Enough For Royals

    • Reading are through to the last 16 of the Carling Cup thanks to a late goal from Nicky Forster.

    Royals started the game with a similar formation to that deployed at Sheffield United in midweek, but with Watson replacing Harper in central midfield. The standard of passing and possession was much improved, though scoring opportunities were few and far between for both sides in an uneventful match.

    Half-time arrived goal-less and the fans were already preparing themselves for a long evening of extra time and penalties as neither team looked like making a breakthrough. But with just 8 minutes remaining, Royals finally got the goal to send them into the 4th Round. Andy Hughes, who had reverted to the right wing when Goater replaced Murray in the 67th minute, crossed the ball from just outside the box and Forster stooped to head home just inside the far post.

    So an improved standard of play, but little to write home about in terms of entertainment. Next up for Reading is a tricky trip to inconsistent Crewe on Saturday.

  • 24thd October 2003 - Fozzy Magic

    • Reading earned an excellent victory at Bramall Lane thanks to a wonder goal from Nicky Forster

    Shaun Goater was dropped in favour of fit-again Andy Hughes as the Royals reverted to a 4-5-1 formation that proved so successful last season. Also in the starting line-up was Ivar Ingimarrson, just a day after signing from Wolves. But it was his central defensive partner who set the visitors on their way to all three points. Adi Williams headed home a corner in the 7th minute to give Royals the lead. But Andy Hughes must take much of the credit as it was his body-check on Williams' marker that allowed the Welsh international a free run to attack the ball and head powerfully home.

    The lead was short-lived, however, as United hit back just 3 minutes later when Reading went to sleep at a free-kick. An excellent ball across the box was turned in by Ashley Ward. With half-time approaching, a moment of pure class from Nicky Forster restored the lead for Reading. Hahnemann rolled the ball out to Shorey at left back, he skipped past a challenge and laid the ball off to Forster ten yards inside the opponents half. Fozzy turned with the ball and ran unchallenged before unleashing a thunderous effort from 25 yards that flew into the top corner for a magnificent goal.

    The second half was a rearguard action for the Royals as they defended superbly. Although they conceded possession too easily at times, they restricted the Blades to few clear cut opportunities and Hahnemann's goal was rarely threatened. At the final whistle, Sheffield boss Neil Warnock was his usual whingeing self and ungracious in defeat. No change there then!
  • 23rd October 2003 - The Iceman Cometh

    • Steve Coppell has made his first signing as Royals manager with the capture of Icelandic international Ivar Ingimarrson from Wolves. The 25 year old centre-back joins for an initial fee of £100,000 that could increase to double that depending on appearances and Royals success. Reading beat off competition from Crystal Palace, with the new recruit saying that Reading are a big club (and so presumably he thinks that Palace are not - couldn't disagree with that).

    Ivar has played under Coppell's leadership twice previously, at Brentford and Brighton, so the boss will know all about his capabilities. With injuries to both Mackie and Brown, it is likely that Ingimarrson will go straight into the side for the trip to Sheffield United tomorrow night.

  • 23rd October 2003 - Brown Op

    • Steve Brown is to follow John Mackie to the operating table next week. The central defender has been plagued by a troublesome knee for some time and is to undergo the knife on Monday. He is likely to be out of action for 6 weeks.

  • 21st October 2003 - Blunder Boy

    • Marcus Hahnemann was guilty of yet another embarrassing blunder that cost the Royals all 3 points against Walsall. It was the 4th game in a row that the big American had committed a basic error to concede a goal, and this time the Royals were unable to recover.

    The only goal came as early as the 4th minute when Reading conceded a free-kick 22 yards from goal. It was perfectly obvious to everyone in the stadium that Vinny Samways was going to 'ping it' with his left foot - everyone except Hahnemann that is. As Samways began his run-up, the crowd were astonished to see the Royals keeper run across his box to the right, only for the Saddlers midfielder to hit his left footed effort to the only place it was ever going to be hit. Needless to say, Marcus was unable to get back across again and was left with yet more egg on his face. The question has to be asked, how much longer can we continue to accept such major errors of judgement. Surely it is time to give Ashdown a chance to show what he can do - maybe in the Carling Cup match against Huddersfield next week.

    After the bonus of an early goal, the visitors showed practically nil intent to get forward and were content to defend what they had for 86 minutes. Reading struggled to find any fluidity and Walsall were able to cope with ease. This made for an extremely boring game - as every game against Walsall seems to be. Hardly surprising that the Royals lowest crowd of the season turned out for the game as matches against Walsall are always a total bore.

    On the evidence of the last 4 games - all at home - Reading could be in for a real hiding in the live Sky game at Brammall Lane on Friday night.

  • 18th October 2003 - Royals 3 PNE 2

    • Reading gained a dramatic victory in an action packed encounter against Preston at the MadStad.

    The game did not start well for the Royals when they found themselves a goal behind following another blunder by Marcus Hahnemann. The big American stopper has been having a torrid time recently with a string of costly blunders. This time, he allowed a weak effort to squirm under his body to put the visitors ahead. But the hosts were showing a marked improvement on Tuesday's performance against Gillingham and were deservedly back on level terms before the interval, albeit with a little help from the referee. Nicky Forster was 'mugged' in the penalty area when clean through on goal, a challenge that saw the visiting defender rightly dismissed. Shaun Goater saw his resulting penalty turned onto the post by the North End keeper. However, to the dismay of the Preston players and officials, the referee ordered the kick to be re-taken and Goater made no mistake with the second attempt. The big Bermudan had earlier seen a thunderous header come back off the crossbar.

    After the break, Reading pushed forward in numbers but it was 10-man Preston who went back in front with a penalty of their own. A quick break saw the ball fall free to Cresswell in the box but he was upended by Sidwell's outstretched leg. Hahnemann was given no chance with a well taken spot-kick. The Royals were not deterred, however, and showed great spirit as they threw everything at in-form North End. Royals hit the woodwork for a 2nd and 3rd time and it looked as if they may have used up all their luck against the Gills 4 days earlier. But with 8 minutes remaining, substitute Salako crossed over a free-kick from the left and Mackie rose above the defence to head home his first goal of the season and Reading's equaliser. The home side were not content, however, and continued to pour forward in search of all three points. Their industry was finally rewarded 4 minutes into added time when Forster got the merest of touches to glance home another Salako cross, this time from the right.

    So a dramatic ending to a thoroughly enjoyable game, and a much improved level of performance. Next up is another home game against Walsall on Tuesday.

  • 14th October 2003 - Embarrassed In Victory

    • The Royals gave Steve Coppell a winning start to his tenure at the MadStad, but goodness only knows how!

    Quite honestly, this was an embarrassment. The whole team showed a complete ineptitude to pass the ball and at times it was just farcical. The Gills were far and away the better side and should have romped home to an easy victory.

    I am not even going to give an account of the game, because I'm still laughing too much.

  • 14th October 2003 - New Burnley Date

    • Reading's postponed fixture away to Burnley has been re-arranged for Tuesday 25th November.

  • 9th October 2003 - Royals Copp Their Man

    • At last, Reading have finally confirmed Steve Coppell as their new manager. The Royals form has dipped alarmingly since Pardew's departure but now they can get back some stability within the club and look to move forward. With no game this weekend, Coppell's first game in charge will be the home match with Gillingham on Tuesday, the first of 3 home games in a row.

  • 5th October 2003 - Murty Blow

    • When you are down, you're really down and luckless Reading have been dealt another severe blow. Right-back Graeme Murty picked up a calf injury in training on Friday and could face several weeks on the sidelines. He will have a scan on Monday to assess the extent of the damage. It would give the Royals a major headache as right-back is a position for which they really have very little cover.

  • 4th October 2003 - Royals 2 Bradford 2

    • Reading dropped another 2 points against poor opposition when they could only manage a 2:2 draw against lowly Bradford City at the MadStad.

    The Royals started the game brightly and took an early lead through Steve Sidwell. For the remainder of the first half, the home side totally dominated as the Bantams hardly broke forward. However, they were made to pay a heavy price for not pushing home their superiority when the visitors grabbed an unlikely equaliser just before the break. A thunderous effort from 25 yards gave Hahnemann no chance and provided a real boost to Bradford's hopes.

    The second half saw Reading start off sluggishly and again they paid the price for some sloppy play when Bradford stole the lead. At last, that seemed to kick the Royals up the backside and they began to put City under intense pressure. It was not until the late stages though, that Hughes headed home a deserved second for the Royals. In the closing minutes, Reading threw everything at Bradford and twice had efforts cleared off the line as they searched in vain for the winner.

    So although Reading showed spirit to fight back from a goal down, it was a situation of their own making and this was really 2 points thrown away. Reading are currently in free-fall and need to stabalise quickly if they are to harbour any hopes this season.