No One Hit Wonder

My lover is a Reading fan. Fortunately I am a kind girl and I love him despite this.

Funny club in lots of ways Reading. They have not really featured in the news particularly since I established my interest in football (which admittedly was only in March this year). Compared to many of the other Premier League clubs they are minnows. Their promotion in 2006 was the first time the club had ever been in the top division since they were established in 1871.

What is more, they did it is style. They secured promotion earlier in the season than any other post-war team and had the highest tally attained in any of the 4 top divisions - ever! Ironically it was a win against Leicester that earned them that distinction.

Steve Coppell, their manager, the man who led them to these dizzy heights of success, appears to be a gentle, modest man. An article in The Observer earlier in the year suggested that in the same way that dogs resemble their owners, football teams resemble their managers. It goes on to describe The Royals as presenting an image of fair-minded, unpretentious decency.

Any media coverage I have heard relating to them seems to mirror this. For example, teams get described as "playing against" Reading rather than commentators talking about X versus Reading.

They had a cracking first season in the Premiership last season but have had a number of defeats this year. Some suggest this is evidence of a phenomenon referred to as "second season syndrome". This refers to a pattern whereby clubs who get promoted and do well in their first season in the Premiership, struggle in the second.

Steve Coppell has previously been scathing about there being such a thing, but now accepts that Reading are suffering the effects.

In an interview on Talk Sport today with Hawksbee and Jacobs, the Reading goalkeeper, Marcus Hahnemann, said that last season they had the advantage of being an unknown quantity to most of the other Premiership sides and therefore they had the element of surprise. Other teams are much more prepared this year and The Royals are paying the price.

Despite this dip in form, however, they are currently 12th in the table and well clear of the relegation zone. I suspect we might not see the impressive 8th place finish of last year (narrowly missing out on a place in Europe) , but my guess is they will probably achieve a respectable overall performance.

I hope my lover is able to deliver to a similar standard.