Reading's
reserve side win 2-0 away to Oxford City. For a match report,
click here.
Before the game, a club official stated that the reserve team
definitely would be playing home games at AFC Newbury's ground
this season (although it appears that there has still not been an
official announcement).
Reading's
Under-10 Academy side took part in the final day of the Watford
and London International Festival of Football. They managed two
wins and a draw in their five games to make a reasonable showing.
Full details of their part of the tournament are on the Academy results page.
The
pre-season continues with the first team winning 3-1 away to
Dorchester Town, the third succssive game that ends with Reading
winning away by that scoreline. Meanwhile a young reserve side
loses 2-1
at Kingstonian. Click on the results for more information,
including a match report on the Kingstonian game.
It was
the turn of the Under-11 Academy side in the Watford and London
International Festival of Football. With a 0-0 draw, Reading were
the only team all day that took anything from the eventual
winners, Arsenal. However, we managed only one win and one other
draw in the remaining six games, so resultswise the day was not a
success. Full details of the day's play are on the Academy results page.
Reading
teams at three age-groups played in the Watford and London
International Festival of Football today. As mentioned yesterday,
in games such as these the performance of the players is the
important thing, but unfortunately I can only report the results.
Today, our Under-10 side managed a win and two draws from their
six games, whilst the Under-13s won their last two games of the
day after starting with three defeats. I believe that the Under-12s
also played, but do not have any details of their games yet (later
note: in fact, their part of the tournament was on Sunday). Full
results and standings of the first two named age groups are on
the Academy results
page. On Saturday, the Under-11s take part in the festival.
The
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) development side beat
Galatasaray 2-1 this afternoon in the final of the BT Trophy (part
of the Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2001 Premier tournament). This
effectively means that they came 17th out of the 24 teams in the
Milk cup. Reading goalkeeper Simon Cox was not expected to play
in the final as he is in the Reading reserve squad for our game
at Kingstonian on Saturday.
Today
saw the start of Reading's participation in the annual Watford
and London International Festival of Football, a tournament that
takes place over the next few days. Our Under-9 Academy side for
next season took part, although because it is still July they are
still classed as Under-8 and so entered the Pro Youth Under-8
section of the tournament, playing against sides from other
professional clubs' academies. In games such as these, the
performance of the players is far more important than the
results, but unfortunately the only information I have is the
results! However, our results looked pretty good, with four wins
and a draw from the six games played. This meant that Reading
finished top of their final group (which was for the second-placed
sides in the initial groups). More details are on the Academy results page, and
results from the other age groups in this tournament should
appear here on Friday and Saturday. (Incidentally, the tournament
does have teams from places other than the southern half of
England and really does justify the word "international"
in the title, but Reading unfortunately don't get to play against
any of them.)
Reading
Academy goalkeeper Simon Cox starred in the Football Association
of Ireland (FAI) development side's penalty shootout win over
County Down in the BT Trophy semi-final this afternoon (part of
the Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2001 Premier tournament). The game
ended 2-2, and went into a penalty compeition that the FAI side
won 4-3. Simon saved the crucial last penalty to send his side
through to the final. Simon also saved a penalty in normal time,
but was unable to stop the rebound from going in. The final will
be against Galatasaray on Friday afternoon, but Simon will
instead be returning to England to join up with the Reading
reserve squad for the game at Kingstonian on Saturday.
The
main news today is that Nicky Forster is to have his ingrowing
toenail removed, which may well mean that he misses the start of
the season. Towards the end of the last campaign, we were talking
about the "Awesome Foursome" of Forster, Jamie Cureton,
Martin Butler and Anthony Rougier. It looks like their record for
this close season is three operations (at least one of which has
taken longer to recover from than expected) and a head injury due
to what the Maidenhead United website euphemistically described
as "accidental trampling" (and which the rest of us
describe as deliberate foul play unnoticed by the match officials).
There
have been suggestions that Reading's reserve side will be playing
somewhere other than Farnborough this season. Rumoured
destinations included both Scours Lane and Palmer Park in Reading
(although as far as I known Palmer Park is not up to the required
standard). The Reading Chronicle today reports that AFC Newbury's
Faraday Road will be the lucky winner, and that the announcement
is imminent.
Today's
Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2001 Premier tournament game saw the
Football Association of Ireland (FAI) development side beat
County Tyrone 2-0 in the BT Trophy quarter-final. Simon Cox
played his first game of the tournament in this match and is also
expected to start in the semi-final against County Down on
Thursday afternoon.
In the
second friendly of the South-West tour, the result was the same
as the first, as Reading beat Tiverton Town 3-1. A young
reserve side won 3-0 away to
Didcot Town. Click on the results for match details.
In the
Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2001 Premier tournament, the Football
Association of Ireland (FAI) development side lost 2-0 to Leeds
United, in their second qualifying game. This means that the FAI
team finished the qualifying tournament in 22nd place out of 24
teams, although they were perhaps unlucky in that their two games
were against the sides wh ofinished first and second. Reading
goalkeeper Simon Cox is in the squad for the tournament and the
most recent news I had was that he would play in at least one of
the FAI's two qualifying games. [Note added 26th July: he did not
play in this game.] The FAI side now go into the BT Trophy, a
knockout tournament for the bottom eight sides, and play a
quarter-final game against County Tyrone on Wednesday afternoon.
According
to the Evening Post, Ben Thornley's trial with Reading has ended,
and he will not be offered a contract. The official reason is
budget constraints. Meanwhile any such constraints didn't stop
Alan Pardew going to France at the weekend to watch an unnamed
player, leaving Martin Allen in charge of the first team at
Weymouth. I suspect that the club are just being kind to Thornley
who did not appear to impress too many of those who saw him play
in the friendly at Aldershot.
In the
Northern Ireland Milk Cup 2001 Premier tournament, the Football
Association of Ireland (FAI) development side lost 3-2 to CD
Palestino, a club from Chile, in their first qualifying game.
Reading goalkeeper Simon Cox is in the squad for the tournament
and the most recent news I had was that he would play in at least
one of the FAI's two qualifying games. [Note added 26th July: he
did not play in this game.] The format of the competition is that
after the final qualifying game on Tuesday the top eight sides go
into a knockout competition for the Milk Cup, the next eight
sides compete for the Northern Bank Trophy, and the bottom eight
sides compete for the BT Trophy. The defeat puts the FAI team 15th
out of 24 teams in the qualifying tournament. Incidentally, the
Premier tournament is for Under-17s, so I believe that the Milk
Cup is using the domestic version of deciding age categories
where the cut-off date is 31st August. For international
purposes, the cut-off date is 1st January making Simon Cox an
Under-18.
Reading
beat Weymouth 3-1
in the latest friendly today - click on the score for more
information.
Ceefax
reports that Alan Pardew has said that the only obstacle to us
signing Ben Thornley is money. Blackpool have also been rumoured
to be following Thornley, although they are said to be put off by
his "huge" wage demands.
Reading
played two behind-closed-door friendly matches against Charlton
Athletic this afternoon. We drew 0-0 in the
main match, whilst we lost a reserve game 1-0. The
games took place at Charlton's Sparrow Lane training ground.
Click on the results for match details.
The
shirt numbers for the season have been announced. You can find
them as part of the player
database page. I think that it is stupid to try to analyse
the reasons for players getting particular numbers, and so have
no intention of doing so.
Academy
goalkeeper Simon Cox has been included in the Republic of Ireland
Under-18 development squad for the the forthcoming Milk Cup
tournament in Northern Ireland. The tournament runs from Monday
to Friday next week, so it is possible that he will instead stay
with the Reading first team squad (as he is our third-choice
keeper). Details of the games in the tournament can be found on
the internationals
page.
Alex
Smith has today signed a two-year deal for Reading. Smith was out
of contract with Port Vale in June, and so moves on a Bosman
transfer. He's also over 24, so there is no tribunal fee involved.
He is a left-sided player, who can apparently play in defence or
midfield. Although Reading had said that there would be a third
signing at some point this summer, not one of the rumours
suggested Smith.
The
Radio 5 programme on football mascots is a little disappointing,
as it only lasts for 20 minutes and features only one
contribution from Kingsley Royal. For further information, go to
the Kingsley Royal section
of this website.
Tomorrow
night sees Kingsley Royal's big radio performance as he takes
part in the Radio 5 programme, "Nice Swan Cyril".
Whilst we just know that the Welsh big bird (also known as Spawn
of Satan) is going to hog the limelight, Kingsley's true star
quality is expected to shine through. The programme runs from 8pm
to 8.30pm. If you can't get to a radio, or are outside the Radio
5 broadcast area, you should be able to hear it by following one
of these two links:
Radio 5 live (current version of Real Player)
Radio 5 live (older versions of Real Player)
This
afternoon, England Under-17s play Brazil at the Reebok Stadium in
Bolton, with Reading's Simieon Howell in the England squad.
Simieon was an unused substitute in England's 2-1 defeat to Italy
last Wednesday. The match is live on Sky Sports 1 from 3.30pm (kick-off
is at 4pm), with repeats at 9pm this evening and 10am on Monday
morning, both also on Sky Sports 1. You can see the standings of
this international tournament on the internationals page -
a draw or a defeat will see England finish last whilst a two-goal
win would give a share of the top spot. (Later news: No-one in
the England camp took my advice - Simieon was on the bench but
did not get on to play, and England lost 2-0.)
So,
after 47 barren days, the season is up and running with Reading
sending sides to play away to both Aldershot Town and Maidenhead
United. The split squad recorded a 2-1 victory
in Aldershot and a 0-0 draw in
Maidenhead. Click on the results to see match facts and comments.
Brazil
beat Italy 3-0 tonight in Wigan in the triangular Under-17
international tournament. This does not bode particularly well
for England who lost 2-1 to Italy in the first game. The final
game of the tournament is at Bolton on Sunday afternoon, so
clearly the way for England to get the two goal win necessary to
win it all is to play Reading's Simieon Howell from the start.
Especially if there are no scouts from any other clubs watching.
NTL
have signed a deal with ITV Digital (formerly ONdigital) allowing
them to broadcast the new ITV Sports Channel from the launch date
of Saturday, 11th August. NTL users will of course have to pay
extra to see the channel. Of far more importance (well, to me
anyway!) is the news that Telewest are on the verge of signing a
similar deal. Unfortunately the rivalry between ITV Digital and
Sky is such that there is no imminent likelihood of the new
channel being available via Sky Digital.
Reading
have announced provisional squads heading for the games at
Aldershot Town and Maidenhead United this Saturday. The game at
Maidenhead will include the senior defence whilst Aldershot will
see the senior midfield. The list of players to be involved at
the weekend include trialists Paul Mortimer and Ben Thornley as
well as new signings Adrian Whitbread and Andy Hughes. Reserve
goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown has clearly recovered from his broken
finger, as he is down to start at Aldershot. Also, Darius
Henderson and John Mackie picked up injuries at the end of last
season, but are both now fit. However, Jamie Cureton and Anthony
Rougier are still recovering from operations, and will not be
playing. The only other player missing is long-term injury victim
Ricky Newman. To see the announced players lists, go to the
previews in the reports
section (although please note that for these two games I really
haven't written that much of a preview).
Incidentally, all match previews for this season will be accessed via the reports page rather than appearing on this news page.
England
Under-17s take on Italy tonight at 8.05pm at the JJB Stadium in
Wigan. Reading's Simieon Howell is in the England squad. You can
see the game live on Sky Sports 1 from 8pm, with repeats at 12midnight
and 1pm tomorrow, also both on Sky Sports 1. England's second and
final game in this tournament is against Brazil and takes place
on Sunday at Bolton Wanderers' ground, again with live television
coverage on Sky Sports. (Later news: Simieon was on the bench but
did not get on to play. England lost 2-1.)
Reading
have started pre-season training, with the personnel involved
including a number of trialists. Confirmed trialists at the
moment are midfielder Paul Mortimer and winger Ben Thornley, both
currently looking for a club for next season after their old
contracts expired. Apparently there is also a Spaniard on trial
recommended by an agent responsible for several other continental
players currently in the Nationwide League. Not involved,
however, was Peter Beagrie who has instead signed up with
Scunthorpe United as player-coach.
ITV
have made some more announcements about the new ITV Sports
Channel to be launched on ITV Digital on Saturday, 11th August.
The first Division 2 football shown will be on Sunday, 12th
August with the Nationwide Division 2 Highlights show from 10.30am
to 11.15am (repeated at 3.45pm). The cost to see this new channel
will be £6.99 per month, but it will initially only be available
via ITV Digital. Rumours persist that the channel will become
available on both Sky Digital and cable towards the end of the
year, once ITV Digital have realised that they cannot possibly
get enough subscribers to make it viable.
Pictures
of the new home and away kits for next season are up on the
club's official site (see links page). Personally I think they
both look pretty awful.
Reading
have today announced the expected signings of defender Adrian
Whitbread and midfielder Andy Hughes, formerly with Portsmouth
and Notts County respectively. Both players were out of contract
this summer, but because Hughes is under 24 we will have to pay a
fee for him after failing to agree terms with his former club.
Also today, Phil Parkinson and Ricky Newman have signed up with
the club for a further two years. Jon Fearn (whose forename seems
to have lost an "h" in the last few days) has joined as
the new club physio in place of Paul Turner. Today's
announcements mean that we still do not know for certain the
futures of Nathan Tyson or Kevin Dillon, although the Reading
Chronicle has stated that Dillon should sign a one-year deal.
Details
of this season's FA Youth Cup have been announced. There are
slightly more entries than last season, but Reading are again
exempt to the first round proper. The format is roughly the same
as for the FA Cup - Premiership and Division 1 clubs are exempt
to the 3rd round proper, Division 2 and 3 clubs (including
Reading, of course) are exempt to the 1st round proper, and there
are qualifying rounds for non-league clubs. A change for this
season is that there are now no replays in the F.A. Youth Cup. If
a match is level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time (with no
golden goal rule) and if necessary a penalty shoot-out will
determine the winner. The draw has been made for the qualifying
rounds, the last of which will finish by Saturday, 6th October.
It's
not a big shock, but the club have announced that there will be a
press conference on Thursday at 2pm to make various announcements.
This will include transfer activity so far, and an unveiling of
the new strip.
Brighton
& Hove Albion have lost interest in signing Neil Smith -
their manager described it as a "dead deal". The
Nottingham Evening Post says that Andy Hughes is expected to sign
for Reading today, but I think they must have jumped the gun
because the Reading Evening Post says that a press conference to
announce new signings is not expected until Thursday. The Post
adds that we are likely only to announce two new players (obviously
expected to be Hughes and Adrian Whitbread) plus the new physio (expected
to be John Fearn from West Ham). This suggests that the mystery
"third man" will eventually arrive, if at all, only
following trial matches. The Post have also added Andy Sinton,
formerly with Wolves to the list of potential targets.
In
theory, you might expect lots of announcements about new signings
today. In practice, I expect nothing much to happen until Monday
- Reading have already stated that they intend to make an
announcement on one day next week, but with all the news in one
go rather than one signing on one day and another on the next.
That might well mean that we have to wait a few days before
things are sorted out. At the end of the week though, we will
expect to hear about Andy Hughes and Adrian Whitbread signing for
us, plus possibly one other player.
First Team . Opposition . Reserves . Academy . Where Are They Now? . Columns . Kingsley . MadStad . Interactive . Links . Site Map