Where will we finish?

[Oilroyal]

Much talk of a top half finish. From what I’ve seen, if we can keep players fit then this is a top 6 team all day long.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Much talk of a top half finish. From what I’ve seen, if we can keep players fit then this is a top 6 team all day long.

I hope so. I stuck £30 on it at 16-1 the day after the window closed.

[Oilroyal]

Much talk of a top half finish. From what I’ve seen, if we can keep players fit then this is a top 6 team all day long.

I hope so. I stuck £30 on it at 16-1 the day after the window closed.

I actually put money on for automatic ... but don’t tell anyone.

[Hound]

got 4 games that on paper look winnable coming up now after a tough start. Then another little tough patch, and then if the early season table looks correct, a November and December where we could really rack up some points.

Reckon if we're top half going into November, then the POs could be a reasonable target

[Snowflake Royal]

Much talk of a top half finish. From what I’ve seen, if we can keep players fit then this is a top 6 team all day long.

I hope so. I stuck £30 on it at 16-1 the day after the window closed.

I actually put money on for automatic ... but don’t tell anyone.

Well I put money on us being so good we're promoted to play the rest of the season in the PL come January.

[Oilroyal]

I hope so. I stuck £30 on it at 16-1 the day after the window closed.

I actually put money on for automatic ... but don’t tell anyone.

Well I put money on us being so good we're promoted to play the rest of the season in the PL come January.

yeah but you operate on a totally different level Ian

[andrew1957]

Much talk of a top half finish. From what I’ve seen, if we can keep players fit then this is a top 6 team all day long.

I hope so. I stuck £30 on it at 16-1 the day after the window closed.

I still managed to get 10/1 for top 6 after the Cardiff game. Thought that was worth a shot as it would pay £660 for £60. You never know I might win back my losses for making a big bet we would finish top half in the 2017/18 season after we lost the play offs. I remember I could not believe the odds were so good for a top 12 finish that season when we had been 3rd the season before. Just goes to show that the bookies normally get it right!

[krapmle]

been watching reading for over 50 years and have seen quite a range of teams. Awful to brilliant.

This team are generating excitement already which is good but its still too early to say in my opinion. There are some really promising signs but there are also some very worrying ones. Short corners and goalkicks where we play ourselves straight into trouble belong in Sunday league football and not at this level.

If they can sort that out quickly and all the new goal scorers start firing on all cylinders some of you may win some money.
At the moment the inconsistencies still concern me and I would go for mid table.

[royalp-we]

What strikes me with this team is the clear style which has been implemented and is being enjoyed by the players. We tried the 4-3-3 for what, 3yrs? We never quite mastered it. Or adapted when things weren’t going well.

At some point we’ll be ‘scouted out’ but what is great to see, is that each and every position knows their role; and each player puts their all in to getting back and taking one for the team.

The new signings are characters - from Rafael ‘Grace be to God’ Cabral to George ‘Don’t oxf*rd with me’ Puscas. They seem to have that extra something in them to believe we are contenders in the division.

I said 18th before the season began. Without getting too carried away if we can get another good result before the international break I’m now going with top 6 - what will then be key is if we can keep important players like Morrison and Rafael in good shape till May.

Come on URZZ

[WestYorksRoyal]

Interesting reading this back, particularly those comments made during Gomes' best week. I'm now thinking 8th - 12th under Bowen. Can't bring myself to hope for playoffs yet.

[Snowflake Royal]

Hoping today (Cardiff) isn’t a false dawn. We really did look the part, more than any game I can remember in recent history

You’d think too half minimum if we can get any consistency and momentum, and hopefully knocking on the door of the P/Os

Hard to imagine this is a false dawn.

It wasn't three lucky breakaways. We had a plan, a solid defence,
a great midfield and an excellent strike force.

We should improve significantly, too, as the players get to know each other better.

Then factor in the reality that we have had a long time with relatively low morale.

Should we get a few wins and be top eight I can only see us getting even better

It's a bit of a hall mark of the Championship that struggling sides will have the odd cracking result and performance. I think it's a bit early to be getting carried away with talk of top 10 when we've won our first points of the season.

Far too many false dawns in the past to get me excited until we string a few results together.

I do pretty well for someone who apparently knows nothing about football, don't I...

[Dr_Hfuhruhurr]

Interesting reading this back, particularly those comments made during Gomes' best week. I'm now thinking 8th - 12th under Bowen. Can't bring myself to hope for playoffs yet.

This feels about right.
We're not doing anything spectacular, but we're doing things we havent done for a while. Coming from behind, last minute winners, winning games that we would normally have hoped for a draw at best. But at the back of your mind is the knowledge that we are always capable of losing at home to Birmingham. We've been creeping into mid table and we havent been there for quite some time. 8th-12th seems just right.

[Snowball]

Reading Odds

Winners 2000-1 (400-1 for top four?)
Automatic 350-1
Promotion 100-1

Top Six 20-1
Play-Offs 17-1 ???????

Bizarrely, on Sky we are 20/1 for top six, but only 17/1 to make the Play-Offs
Presumably those three points are "just in case we get automatic". Yeah, right

Top Half EVENS

Relegation 33-1
Bottom 250-1

[Snowflake Royal]

Reading Odds

Winners 2000-1 (400-1 for top four?)
Automatic 350-1
Promotion 100-1

Top Six 20-1
Play-Offs 17-1 ???????

Bizarrely, on Sky we are 20/1 for top six, but only 17/1 to make the Play-Offs
Presumably those three points are "just in case we get automatic". Yeah, right

Top Half EVENS

Relegation 33-1
Bottom 250-1

How did you get on with Cardiff not being a false dawn?

[morganb]

This week's Sky Sports Podcast has a "Football Manager predicts the final Championship table" section

https://www.skysports.com/football/news ... ship-table

It predicts that Reading will finish 9th

Andy Hinchcliffe doesn't think that FM has got the play-off spots correct (Swansea, Bristol City, Fulham, Nottingham Forest) - from these four he'd give Reading more chance of reaching the play-offs than all but Fulham!

[genome]

Winners 2000-1 (400-1 for top four?)
Automatic 350-1

How can we be 2000-1 for the title and 350-1 for automatic when we are exactly the same amount of points away from 1st and 2nd?

[Old Man Andrews]

Winners 2000-1 (400-1 for top four?)
Automatic 350-1

How can we be 2000-1 for the title and 350-1 for automatic when we are exactly the same amount of points away from 1st and 2nd?

Because it is certain that Leeds will be winners.

[Hound]

Winners 2000-1 (400-1 for top four?)
Automatic 350-1

How can we be 2000-1 for the title and 350-1 for automatic when we are exactly the same amount of points away from 1st and 2nd?

Because it is certain that Leeds will be winners.

FFS Genome, teed him right up there.

But yeah it would mean both teams having to collapse rather than just the standard Leeds balls up

[leon]

Hard to imagine this is a false dawn.

It wasn't three lucky breakaways. We had a plan, a solid defence,
a great midfield and an excellent strike force.

We should improve significantly, too, as the players get to know each other better.

Then factor in the reality that we have had a long time with relatively low morale.

Should we get a few wins and be top eight I can only see us getting even better

It's a bit of a hall mark of the Championship that struggling sides will have the odd cracking result and performance. I think it's a bit early to be getting carried away with talk of top 10 when we've won our first points of the season.

Far too many false dawns in the past to get me excited until we string a few results together.

I do pretty well for someone who apparently knows nothing about football, don't I...

Mystic Smeg

[Snowflake Royal]

Winners 2000-1 (400-1 for top four?)
Automatic 350-1

How can we be 2000-1 for the title and 350-1 for automatic when we are exactly the same amount of points away from 1st and 2nd?

Overtaking one of West Brom and Leeds is more likely than both.