04 July 2025
By Hob Nob Anyone?
It has been a difficult few years for loyal Reading fans as football and the semblance of sports entertainment sharply took a backseat as owner Dai Yongge lurched from one unmitigated disaster to the next in what felt like his own bizarre and personal soap opera.
Tax issues and winding up orders, points deductions, relegations, a failure to pay the players and almost endless takeover talks that always broke down had left many in the faithful utterly exhausted and devoid of optimism, and although that nightmare came to an end in May with a sale to Rob Couhig finally completed, we understandably have plenty of issues to resolve as we look to put ourselves back on a firmer footing and rebuild a more solid foundation.
With some optimism renewed for the coming 2025/26 League One campaign, fans will certainly have taken plenty of heart from improved performances last term with Ruben Selles at the helm, which largely continued with Noel Hunt latterly returning to the managerial hotseat and for those fans who like a flutter promotion betting odds accuracy will be improved given we are now on a firmer footing. Having rejoined the club in early December, the 42 year old former Republic of Ireland international striker took 12 wins and ten draws from his 31 games in charge, and we ultimately finished the campaign in seventh place in the table, just three points shy of Leyton Orient who took the last promotion Play Off spot.
As Hunt prepares for a proper pre season in charge of the club, and under new ownership, he will undoubtedly be hoping to match that achievement and better still, improve on it, particularly as the club will no longer be surrounded by the complete chaos that had become our norm.
With previews and predictions for the new campaign now being made, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman believes that although we are now well placed to enjoy a good year, given the make up of the first team squad right now, he feels that a push for the top two spots in the table and automatic promotion would be a bridge too far, but another run at the Play Off spots could be on the cards for us.
For Goodman, he feels that the typical challengers will be there once again, but he naturally feels that relegated Championship sides Luton Town, Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle will all have a good shot at going straight back up at the first time of asking so he feels that it will be 'tough for Reading to gate-crash automatic promotion' in the year ahead.
However, he admits himself that this could all change depending on the approach that Couhig decides to take when it comes to his investment into the club, and then what kind of transfer dealings we are capable of pulling off in the next month or so.
In short, like many in the wider world of football and the Royal fanbase itself, currently he has no idea how things will shape up but it is certainly going to be an interesting journey. Most of us will simply enjoy starting a season without a points deduction to be honest.
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