LATEST NEWS ON 'The Royals'
December 2003
Click here for directory of archived news items.

  • 30th December 2003 - Royals Forced Into Changes

    • Reading are forced to make several changes for the FA Cup tie at Preston on Saturday. Lloyd Owusu is cup-tied, along with new signing Dave Kitson, and Andy Hughes picked up a hamstring strain in the draw at Walsall. Shaun Goater is expected to return from injury.

  • 28th December 2003 - Positive Signs At Last

    • For the first time since Coppell's arrival, Reading approached a game with a positive attituted and played two up front. And boy what a difference it made. The Royals looked so much more threatening in this 1:1 draw with Walsall at the Bescot Stadium.

    The first half was fairly even, but at least Reading were getting numbers forward and creating opportunities. It was after the break though, that Reading totally dominated proceedings. Trailing to a first half header by Jorge Leitao, the Royals attacked relentlessly and were eventually rewarded with an equaliser. Scott Murray broke down the right before cutting inside only to be tripped just outside the box. Nicky Shorey stepped up to fire the free-kick over the defensive wall and into to top corner for an excellent goal. Reading continued to dominate and thought they had won the game when Nicky Forster headed the ball home. However, for the 2nd time in the match the visitors were denied by an offside flag.

    Although the Royals were unable to get back to winning ways. at least this was a positive effort that was appreciated by the travelling support.

    Walsall 1   Reading 1  
    Leitao 30   Shorey 72  
    Starting line-up Sub'd Competition Starting line-up Sub'd
    Walker       Nationwide Division One Hahnemann      
    Bazeley       Sunday 28th December 2003 Murty      
    Richie       Match Statistics Shorey      
    Roper       7 Goal Attempts 11 Brown      
    Arenalde       2 On target 7 Williams      
    Osborn     1 (82) 5 Off target 4 Hughes     1 (31)
    Samways     2 (84) 44% Possession 56% Sidwell      
    Emblem       6 Corners 12 Harper      
    Wrack       15 Fouls 7 Newman     2 (68)
    Leitao       2 Offside 6 Forster      
    Birch       1 Yellow Cards 0 Owusu      
    Substitutes Sub'd 0 Red Cards 0 Substitutes Sub'd
    Lawrence     1 (82)  Referee Murray     1 (31)
    Merson     2 (84) A. Bates, Stoke-On-Trent Ingimarrson     2 (68)
    Hay        Attendance Watson      
    Simpson       8,089 Tyson      
    Allaway         Young      


  • 26th December 2003 - Fuck Off Coppell

    • I make no apology for the use of such strong language. Since Coppell took charge he has turned a group of players that were able to play decent football and look capable of challenging for promotion into a bunch of clueless no-hopers. Three consecutive 0:3 reversals to teams in the bottom six is nothing short of embarrassing. Watching this team play 'hoof-it' is like a throw-back to the bad old days of Tommy Burns. Steve Coppell may only be on a short term contract, but it is too long for my liking - he should quit NOW! The guy has obviously not got a clue. Just looking at the past couple of weeks, there are a number of questions to be answered about his stewardship:

  • Why play a cenre-back who has been out injured for 7 weeks in the right back position against Palace when there is a perfectly good player who can fill that position sitting on the bench?
  • When forced to make a defensive change in that game, why still leave Newman on the bench and instead pull back our only attacking midfielder to the right back position?
  • Just because the Goat is unavailable, why play a 'donkey'?
  • Are Owusu and Kitson really the calibre of signing for a club that has ambition to reach the Premiership?
  • Why was the only shining light against Palace, Dean Morgan, not even in the squad for the next game?
  • If Coppell himself feels that we are 'one-dimensional' in playing with a lone striker, why does he leave his new signing Lloyd Owusu on the bench and start the game against Wimbledon with a lone striker?
  • With his team losing 0:2 at home to lowly opposition, why does he not use his substitutes or make any change in tactics?
  • Why has he stopped the team from trying to play football and instead insisting on deploying 'hoof-it' rubbish?
  • Why does he show NO PASSION or positive attribute? How can he expect his players to do so if he himself has no appetite?

    Coppell only seems to excel at clubs where he cannot go wrong because expectations are so low. Given an opportunity at a club with ambition and he cannot hack it. Piss off now before the damage you cause is terminal, Coppell!

    Reading  0   Wimbledon  3  
        Small 8
    Lewington 22
    McAnuff 80    		  
    Starting line-up Sub'd Competition Starting line-up Sub'd
    Hahnemann       Nationwide Division One Banks      
    Murty       Friday 26th December 2003 Lewington      
    Shorey       Match Statistics Darlington      
    Williams       9 Goal Attempts 10 Gier      
    Ingimarrson       12 On target 1 Leigertwood      
    Watson     2 (69) 5 Off target 5 McAnuff      
    Sidwell       48% Possession 52% Small      
    Murray     1 (55) 6 Corners 4 Nowland      
    Salako       11 Fouls 9 Reo-Coker      
    Forster       4 Offside 1 Agyemang      
    Hughes       0 Yellow Cards 2 Mackie     1 (68)
    Substitutes Sub'd 0 Red Cards 0 Substitutes Sub'd
    Harper     2 (69)  Referee Gray     1 (68)
    Owusu     1 (55) P. Taylor, Cheshunt Chorley      
    Brown        Attendance Tapp      
    Newman       14.486 Harding      
    Young         Worgan      


  • 26th December 2003 - Kitson Deal Completed

    • Reading have completed the digning of Dave Kitson from Cambridge for an initial fee of £150,000 that could rise to £350,000 depending on appearances. The registration will not be lodged with the authorities in time for the game at Walsall, so Kitson will not be eligible to play for the Royals until the home game against Ipswich on 10th January as he is cup-tied for the FA Cup encounter at Preston.

  • 23rd December 2003 - Kitson Bid Accepted

    • Reading have had a £250,000 bid for Dave Kitson accepted by 3rd Division Cambridge United and is currently discussing personal terms. Following the loan signing of Lloyd Owusu, Royals fans will be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on. If we were trying to make promotion from the 2nd division then maybe these would look decent signings. But for a club aiming for the Premiership? Surely this isn't the calibre of player that the supporters would have been hoping for. I guess that only time will tell whether or not Coppell knows what he is doing - but so far he has given little hope to bemused fans with a strangely negative attitude and baffling team selection against Palace.

  • 22nd December 2003 - Owusu Signs On Loan

    • In a bid to solve Royals striking problems, manager Steve Coppell has gone for a player who can't even get into a struggling 2nd division team. He has gone for Lloyd Owusu of Sheffield Wednesday, a player he is familiar with from his days at Brentford. Owusu is expected to go straight into the team for the visit of Wimbledon on Boxing Day.

  • 20th December 2003 - Total Crap!

    • Take your Coppell back, Palace. The Royals have been negative, uninspiring, boring rubbish ever since he took charge, but this performance is the worst by a long way. Total crap is all that can be said.

  • 19th December 2003 - Fozzy Robbed

    • Nicky Forster has been robbed of the goal initially awarded to him during the Watford game. The video panel have decided that it should go down as an own goal.

  • 13th December 2003 - Stoke 3 Royals 0

    • Reading slumped to a 3:0 defeat at the Britannia Stadium after a poor performance. The damage was done in the first half as Royals were pinned back and seemed unable to cope with the blustery conditions.

    The home side used the wind to good effect, piling balls into the box that made life difficult for Reading's defenders. Peter Hoekstra gave the Potters the lead in the 18th minute, and followed up with a thunderous shot to grab the second just 8 minutes later. The visitors rarely got forward and De Goey in the Stoke goal was a virtual spectator for the entire opening 45 minutes.

    After the break, Reading came out strongly and put the hosts under pressure but couldn't really test their keeper. The Royals chances faded as the game wore on and it was Stoke who scored a third near the end. Nicky Shorey was penalised for a challenge in the area and Hoekstra chipped home the penalty for his hat-trick.

    So a bitterly disappointing afternoon for Reading who slip out of the play-off places. They will be eager to get back on track with victory against struggling Crystal Palace in front of the Sky TV cameras next Saturday evening (K.O. 5:35pm).

  • 7th December 2003 - FA Cup Draw

    • Reading have been drawn away to Preston North End in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup. Ties to be played during the first weekend of January. The full draw is as follows:

    wimbledon v stoke swansea v macclesfield
    cardiff v sheffield utd leeds v arsenal
    wycombe or mansfield v burnley tottenham hotspur v crystal palace
    crewe v telford aston villa v man utd
    bristol city or barnsley v scunthorpe or sheff wed southend v scarborough
    portsmouth v blackpool sunderland v hartlepool
    northampton v rotherham tranmere v bolton
    fulham v charlton preston v reading
    man city v leicester wigan v west ham
    southampton v newcastle middlesborough v notts county
    yeovil v liverpool ipswich v derby
    birmingham v blackburn coventry v peterborough
    nottm forest v wba everton v norwich
    watford v chelsea bournemouth or accrington v colchester
    kidderminster v wolves bradford v luton
    gillingham v charlton millwall v walsall


  • 6th December 2003 - Latics 0 Royals 2

    • The Royals started and finished the first half strongly at the JJB Stadium in what was an even and lively opening period. The visitors' best opportunities fell to Nicky Forster whos pace was causing problems for the Latics defence.

    Firstly, Fozzy broke free of the home defence but the angle was too narrow and his effort fired across goal. Mid-way through the half, he dragged a volleyed effort wide from 20 yards and then saw the Wigan keeper make a fine save from what was probably the clearest chance of the half. Wigan had a spell of concerted pressure in the middle portion of the opening 45 minutes, but Mackie was in commanding form and the Royals defended well. The half ended with a spell of sustained attacking by Reading and they forced a string of corners. They couldn't find the breakthrough, however, and the two sides went in goal-less at the break.

    Andy Hughes picked up a hamstring injury early in the second half and was replaced by Harper. In the 55th minutes, Royals cleared a Wigan corner and broke quickly for Forster to fire home his 11th goal of the season. For the remainder of the half, Royals defended superbly as the home side piled forward. In the final minute or normal time, though, a classic counter-attack by Reading saw Fozzy get his second of the afternoon and seal an excellent victory.

  • 3rd December 2003 - Brave Royals Bow Out

    • Reading put up a spirited performance in an entertaining game against star-studded Chelsea in the Carling Cup.

    The Premiership leaders fielded a strong side including the likes of Crespo, Hasselbaink, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Johnson, Babayaro, Desailly, Gronkjaer and Geremi, with Makalele, Stanic and Mutu all coming off the bench. The visitors certainly showed their class and created a host of scoring opportunities. However, they found Royals keeper Marcus Hahnemann (who has had more than a few nightmare moments this season) in inspired form. The big yank produced a string of fine saves, keeping out Crespo on no fewer than 5 occasions alone. But the hosts also had some good moments and were unfortunate when Bas Savage saw his header hit the post early on. Another opportunity was cleared off the line by Lampard in the second half. Ironically though, the only goal of the game arrived after a Reading attack broke down on the edge of the Chelsea box. Hughes and Forster got in each others way and just seconds later the Royals were behind. Lampard played a long ball up to Crespo who held the ball before squaring to the on-rushing Hasselbaink to fire into the corner.

    So the Royals hopes of progressing in the Carling Cup are over for another year, but they can certainly hold their heads high after a good effort in front of a record attendance of 24,107 at the MadStad.

  • 1st December 2003 - Murty & Murray Scotland Call-up

    • Graeme Murty and Scott Murray have both been called up for the Scotland 'Futures' squad to face Turkey at Dundee next Wednesday.