Reading F.C. season 2007-08

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Season 2007–08
Reading F.C.
Manager	Steve Coppell
Chairman	John Madejski
League	Premier League
Final league position	18th (relegated)
FA Cup	Third Round
League Cup	Third Round
Top goalscorer	League: Kitson (10) All: Kitson (10)
Highest home attendance	24,135 (vs Manchester United, 19 January 2008)
Lowest home attendance	21,379 (vs Wigan Athletic, 22 September 2007)

Reading Football Club played the season 2007–08 in the Premier League; only the second top flight campaign in the club's history. The team suffered a poor run of form from January, and suffered relegation on the final day of the season, as Fulham's victory at Portsmouth saw Reading finish in 18th place.

[edit] Review and events

See also: Premier League 2007-08

[edit] Pre-season

Reading travelled to South Korea to play in the 2007 Peace Cup. Reading lost to River Plate,^[1] won against Lyon^[2] and Shimizu S-Pulse,^[3] and came second in Group B on goal difference.

In Didcot, a Reading XI won 2-0,^[4] followed by a 6-1 hammering of Brentford.^[5] Reading went away to Brighton & Hove Albion and won 3-1,^[6] then a Reading XI drew 1-1 at a rescheduled game at Tooting & Mitcham United.^[7] Reading's final pre-season game was against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux, which Reading won 3-2.^[8]

[edit] August

A tough start to the Premier League season saw Reading travel to Old Trafford, to play Manchester United. Reading secured a creditable 0-0 draw, despite losing Dave Kitson to a red card just seconds after the player had entered the game as a substitute; Kitson was dismissed for a lunge on Patrice Evra.^[9]

Reading's first home game of the season was a midweek fixture with reigning Premier League champions Chelsea. Reading dominated the first half, and led at half-time through André Bikey's first goal for the club, smashed home after Petr Čech and Steve Sidwell collided in the Chelsea penalty area. Chelsea scored two quick goals, however, in the second half, to win the game 2-1, and Reading again had a player sent off, Kalifa Cissé, this time for two yellow cards.^[10]

The following Saturday, Reading gained a badly needed win against Everton. Stephen Hunt converted from a looping throw-in in the first-half, and Reading secured a 1-0 victory.^[11] In their final league fixture of the month, an injury-hit Reading, without Nicky Shorey and Graeme Murty in defence, lost 3-0 at Bolton Wanderers.^[12]

On 28 August, Reading began their League Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory away to League One Swansea City. Reading again played some of the match with only 10 men, after Sam Sodje was red-carded in the 58th minute, but Leroy Lita struck the winning goal in extra-time, converting a Dave Kitson cross.^[13]

[edit] September

Reading fans could have been forgiven for expecting a victory from the opening league fixture in the month at home to West Ham United, having won last season's corresponding fixture 6-0. Two goals from Matthew Etherington, however, helped West Ham to a 3-0 victory, as Reading's defence continued to struggle.^[14] Another defeat followed at newly-promoted Sunderland, Dave Kitson scoring a late consolation from a Nicky Shorey cross, as Sunderland won 2-1.^[15]

Reading returned to winning ways on 22 September, and moved out of the relegation places with a 2-1 home victory over Wigan Athletic, Dave Kitson becoming the first Royal to score multiple times in the season.^[16] The next league match was an away loss to Portsmouth in an 11 goal thriller, the highest goal scoring game in the history of the Premier League to date.^[17] While the two sides were equal at 2-2 early in the second half, Pompey went on to a decisive 7-4 victory. Benjani Mwaruwari scored a hat trick for the home squad in this wild match, which included a missed penalty by Nicky Shorey and scoring by four different Royals.^[18]

Again, Reading played one cup fixture in the month. Despite a spirited showing by a number of reserves, they lost 4-2 to Liverpool at home in the Carling Cup third round, with Fernando Torres scoring a hat trick.^[19]

[edit] October

Reading began the month with a home game against Derby County on 7 October. In what proved to be a scrappy affair Reading came out with a 1-0 victory through a Kevin Doyle goal; Derby did not manage a shot on target the whole game.^[20]

Next followed an away game against Blackburn Rovers on 20 October after the international break, Reading's defensive frailties away from home showed once again as they went down 4-2, Kevin Doyle netted twice after coming on as a substitute while Benni McCarthy scored twice with Roque Santa Cruz and Tugay getting the other two goals for Blackburn.^[21]

Reading finished October with a home game against Newcastle United, Reading took the lead courtesy of a 53rd minute Dave Kitson goal but a clumsy Michael Duberry own goal in the 76th minute looked to have rescued a point for the Magpies, however a moment of tactical brilliance by Steve Coppell resulted in the winning goal. Shane Long was brought on in the 84th minute to promptly score the winning goal on his second touch of the ball.^[22]

[edit] November

Following victory over Newcastle United, Reading travelled to Craven Cottage with hopes of a second consecutive league win for the first time in the season. A laboured performance, however, saw Fulham win the game 3-1, after Kevin Doyle's second-half equaliser had put the Royals back in it.^[23]

On 12 November, Reading hosted unbeaten Arsenal under the Madejski Stadium floodlights, and were soundly beaten 3-1, Nicky Shorey slotting home a late consolation after substitute Shane Long had headed against the bar. The result ended a run of three consecutive home victories, and cemented the five-point gap in the table between Newcastle in 11th (on 18 points), and Reading in 12th (on 13 points).^[24]

Reading rounded up November with an away trip to Manchester City, many saw this game as a certain victory for the home team considering both City's home record and Reading's away record. City took the lead thanks to an 11th minute goal by Martin Petrov only to be cancelled out just before half time by a well struck James Harper goal in the 43rd minute. Reading looked set to earn a hard-fought point but their hopes were dashed by a 94th minute Stephen Ireland strike. This result was Reading's sixth consecutive away defeat as they remained winless on the road.^[25]

[edit] December

The month of December saw an improvement for Reading. They met Middlesbrough at home on 1 December; after an entirely forgettable first half, Dave Kitson gave Reading the lead, superbly lobbing Ross Turnbull. But with seven minutes remaining, Middlesbrough's Tuncay Şanlı headed home Luke Young's cross for his first goal for Boro. The game concluded with a 1-1 draw which is what Reading required to stay out of the relegation zone.^[26]

8 December saw an impressive and unexpected win for Reading over Liverpool. With a controversial penalty after Jamie Carragher fouled Brynjar Gunnarsson in the corner of the box, Stephen Hunt put the ball into the back of the goal, with José Reina not standing a chance. Steven Gerrard eventually equalised after many failed Liverpool attacks before and after from Fernando Torres. A free kick was eventually awarded to Reading following an unsuccessful tackle by Gerrard, which Nicky Shorey floated into the area, and Kevin Doyle headed in. James Harper scored a fine third and Reading, with the help of the post, kept the Reds at bay for the remainder of the match.^[27]

Following a 1-1 draw away to Birmingham City, in which Stephen Hunt earned Reading a point with his second goal from the penalty spot in two games,^[28] Reading scraped a controversial victory over Sunderland at the Madejski Stadium. Leading through an Ívar Ingimarsson goal, Reading conceded a penalty when Ibrahima Sonko appeared to trip Kenwyne Jones. In the final minute, Stephen Hunt poked a Shane Long cross towards goal, and Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon appeared to palm the ball away. The assistant referee gave a goal, however, and Reading celebrated a 2-1 victory.^[29]

On Boxing Day, Reading travelled to West Ham, leaving Upton Park with a creditable 1-1 draw, Dave Kitson equalising Nolberto Solano's opener after Brynjar Gunnarsson had been sent off for a two-footed challenge on West Ham's Hayden Mullins.^[30]

Reading's final game of 2007 was against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, where the teams threatened to eclipse the 11 goals in Reading's match at Portsmouth earlier in the season. Tottenham won the match 6-4, although Reading led three times in the second half, with goals from Kalifa Cissé and Ívar Ingimarsson and two from Dave Kitson. Tottenham controversially regained the lead after Jermain Defoe headed home Robbie Keane's saved penalty, Defoe having been two yards inside the penalty area when the kick was taken.^[31]

[edit] January

2008 started badly for Reading as Ibrahima Sonko was sent off after only four minutes of a home match against Portsmouth on 1 January, for fouling Benjani Mwaruwari in the penalty area. Niko Kranjčar missed the resultant penalty, but Sol Campbell bundled the ball over the line a few minutes later after a mistake from Marcus Hahnemann. Reading failed to make much impact against Portsmouth after that, and the extra work-rate required due to being a man down showed in the second half when John Utaka outpaced Nicky Shorey for a second goal after 66 minutes to give the visitors a 2–0 victory.^[32]

Just a week after losing 6–4 to Tottenham Hotspur in the league, Reading had an opportunity to give a better account of themselves in a FA Cup Third Round match at White Hart Lane. Fielding effectively a reserve team, Reading earned a replay at Madejski Stadium through a 2–2 draw and another two goals for Stephen Hunt.^[33]

Reading returned to league action at Villa Park, and despite an injury to Michael Duberry, and the absence of Ibrahima Sonko and André Bikey to the African Cup of Nations, Steve Coppell opted to play Brynjar Gunnarsson in defence in first half, and Kalifa Cissé in the second half, despite the availability of reserves team captain Alex Pearce. Reading fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Villa, James Harper scoring a late consolation goal for the Royals.^[34]

Soon Reading played Tottenham Hotspur again in the 3rd Round Replay at home. Robbie Keane scored the only goal as Tottenham Hotspur went to win 1-0 and go into the hat in the 4th Round Draw.

Next Reading played Manchester United at the Madejski Stadium, despite a spirited performance Man U broke the deadlock on 77 minutes with a goal from Wayne Rooney, then in injury time Ronaldo wrapped up the points condemning Reading to their 5th straight defeat.

Reading then played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea dominated the match and took a deserved 1-0 lead curtosey of a 33rd minute goal from Michael Ballack, despite numerous chances that proved to be the final score.

[edit] February

February started miserably for the Royals. First, they lost against fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers at home 0-2 with the goals coming from Dave Kitson and Kevin Nolan. After a seventh straight Premiership loss to Everton, Reading dropped into the relegation zone.

Reading went to Everton trying to get a win. Everton proved too strong and beat Reading 1-0 through a Phil Jagielka goal just after the hour mark.

Reading's next game was at home to Aston Villa. Shorey scored their first goal for five matches in the 90th minute for the Royals, but it was all to late as Villa had scored 2 goals earlier on in the match through Ashley Young and Marlon Harewood and so Reading lost 2-1.

[edit] March

March started well for Reading, taking a complete turn around. Their first match was against Middlesbrough at the Riverside. The match was a hard fought battle and looked set to be a draw. However in injury time, James Harper scored the winner, making the final score 1-0. This match moved them out of the relegation zone and into 14th place.

Reading beat Manchester City 2-0, at home, to make it 6 points out of 6. Shane Long and substitute Dave Kitson scored for Reading.

Reading soon went to Liverpool. Reading went 1-0 up after a screamer from Marek Matejovsky. Liverpool won the game 2-1 in the end. In their next game, Reading beat Birmingham 2-1, as Bikey scored both goals for Reading, making Mauro Zarate's equaliser trivial. Reading drew against Blackburn in their final game in March, Marek Matejovsky being controversially sent off for two yellow cards.

[edit] April

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[edit] May

Reading's goal drought continued into May, as the club slipped into the relegation places following a 1-0 home defeat to Tottenham. Robbie Keane's first half goal was enough to seal all three points for Tottenham, for whom Radek Černý made an important late save from a Liam Rosenior shot.

Reading were relegated to the Championship on the final day of the season, despite securing a 4-0 victory away to Derby. Reading's strikers found their form a little too late, as Dave Kitson, Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita all added to James Harper's first-half goal. Fulham beat Portsmouth in their final game of the season to condemn Reading to relegation.

[edit] Match results

[edit] Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

[edit] League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result^[35]	Scorers	Attendance	Position
12 August 2007 – 16:00	Manchester United	Away	0–0		75,655	12
15 August 2007 – 20:00	Chelsea	Home	1–2	Bikey	24,031	15
18 August 2007 – 15:00	Everton	Home	1–0	Hunt	22,813	7
25 August 2007 – 15:00	Bolton Wanderers	Away	0–3		20,023	13
1 September 2007 – 15:00	West Ham United	Home	0–3		23,533	18
15 September 2007 – 15:00	Sunderland	Away	1–2	Kitson	39,272	18
22 September 2007 – 15:00	Wigan Athletic	Home	2–1	Kitson, Harper	21,379	16
29 September 2007 – 15:00	Portsmouth	Away	4–7	Rosenior, Kitson, Long, Campbell (og)^[36]	20,102	17
7 October 2007 – 14:00	Derby County	Home	1–0	Doyle	23,091	12
20 October 2007 – 15:00	Blackburn Rovers	Away	2–4	Doyle (2)	19,425	12
27 October 2007 – 15:00	Newcastle United	Home	2–1	Kitson, Long	24,119	12
3 November 2007 – 15:00	Fulham	Away	1–3	Doyle	22,086	12
12 November 2007 – 20:00	Arsenal	Home	1–3	Shorey	24,024	12
24 November 2007 – 15:00	Manchester City	Away	1–2	Harper	43,813	12
1 December 2007 – 15:00	Middlesbrough	Home	1–1	Kitson	22,262	12
8 December 2007 – 17:15	Liverpool	Home	3–1	Hunt (pen), Doyle, Harper	24,022	12
15 December 2007 – 15:00	Birmingham City	Away	1–1	Hunt (pen)	27,300	13
22 December 2007 – 15:00	Sunderland	Home	2–1	Ingimarsson, Hunt	24,082	12
26 December 2007 – 13:00	West Ham United	Away	1–1	Kitson	34,277	12
29 December 2007 – 15:00	Tottenham Hotspur	Away	4–6	Cissé, Ingimarsson, Kitson (2)	36,178	13
1 January 2008 – 15:00	Portsmouth	Home	0–2		24,084	13
12 January 2008 – 15:00	Aston Villa	Away	1–3	Harper	38,288	13
19 January 2008 – 15:00	Manchester United	Home	0–2		24,135	14
30 January 2008 – 19:45	Chelsea	Away	0–1		41,171	16
2 February 2008 – 15:00	Bolton Wanderers	Home	0–2		21,893	17
9 February 2008 – 15:00	Everton	Away	0–1		36,582	18
24 February 2008 – 12:30	Aston Villa	Home	1–2	Shorey	23,889	18
1 March 2008 – 15:00	Middlesbrough	Away	1–0	Harper	23,273	18
8 March 2008 – 15:00	Manchester City	Home	2–0	Long, Kitson	24,062	13
15 March 2008 – 15:00	Liverpool	Away	1–2	Matějovský	43,524	14
22 March 2008 – 15:00	Birmingham City	Home	2–1	Bikey (2)	24,085	15
29 March 2008 – 15:00	Blackburn Rovers	Home	0–0		23,374	14
5 April 2008 – 15:00	Newcastle United	Away	0–3		52,179	16
12 April 2008 – 15:00	Fulham	Home	0–2		24,112	16
19 April 2008 – 12:45	Arsenal	Away	0–2		60,109	17
26 April 2008 – 15:00	Wigan	Away	0–0		19,043	17
3 May 2008 – 15:00	Tottenham	Home	0–1		24,125	18
10 May 2008 – 15:00	Derby	Away	4-0	Harper, Kitson, Doyle, Lita	33,087	18

[edit] FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result^[35]	Scorers	Attendance
5 January 2008 – 15:00	Third round	Tottenham Hotspur	Away	2–2	Hunt (2)	35,243
15 January 2008 – 15:00	Third round (replay)	Tottenham Hotspur	Home	0–1		22,130

[edit] Football League Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result^[35]	Scorers	Attendance
28 August 2007 – 19:45	Second round	Swansea City	Away	1–0	Lita	12,027
25 September 2007 – 19:45	Third round	Liverpool	Home	2–4	Convey, Halls	23,563

[edit] Player details

No.	Nat.	Position	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Nat.	Position	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1		GK	Marcus Hahnemann	38	0	38	0	0	0	0	0
32		GK	Adam Federici	4	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
2		DF	Graeme Murty	28	0	28	0	0	0	0	0
3		DF	Nicky Shorey	38	2	36	2	1	0	1	0
5		DF	Ibrahima Sonko	16	0	16	0	0	0	0	0
14		DF	John Halls	3	1	1	0	0	0	2	1
16		DF	Ívar Ingimarsson	36	2	35	2	1	0	0	0
18		DF	Sam Sodje	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
19		DF	Liam Rosenior	19	1	17	1	2	0	0	0
22		DF	André Bikey	24	3	22	3	1	0	1	0
23		DF	Ulises de la Cruz	10	0	6	0	2	0	2	0
29		DF	Michael Duberry	16	0	13	0	1	0	2	0
33		DF	Scott Golbourne	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
35		DF	Alex Pearce	3	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
4		MF	Kalifa Cissé	25	1	22	1	2	0	1	0
6		MF	Brynjar Gunnarsson	20	0	20	0	0	0	0	0
7		MF	Glen Little	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
10		MF	Stephen Hunt	40	6	37	4	2	2	1	0
11		MF	John Oster	18	0	18	0	0	0	0	0
15		MF	James Harper	41	6	38	6	1	0	2	0
17		MF	Bobby Convey	24	1	20	0	2	0	2	1
19		MF	Seol Ki-Hyeon	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
20		MF	Emerse Faé	11	0	8	0	1	0	2	0
28		MF	Marek Matějovský	14	1	14	1	0	0	0	0
30		MF	Jimmy Kébé	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0
34		MF	James Henry	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
8		FW	Leroy Lita	18	2	14	1	2	0	2	1
9		FW	Kevin Doyle	36	6	36	6	0	0	0	0
12		FW	Dave Kitson	36	10	34	10	0	0	2	0
24		FW	Shane Long	32	3	29	3	2	0	1	0
31		FW	Simon Cox	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0

Last updated: 16:19, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Transfers

[edit] In

Status	Country	N	P	Name	Age	Moving from	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
Transferred Y	FRA	4	MF	Cissé	22	Boavista	2010	€1m	readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y	CIV FRA	20	MF	Faé	23	Nantes	2010	£2.5m	readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y	ENG	19	DF	Rosenior	23	Fulham	2010		readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y	BUL	—	FW	Vasilev	17	Slavia Sofia			readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y	CZE	28	MF	Matějovský	26	Mladá Boleslav	2011		readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y	MLI FRA	30	MF	Kébé	24	Lens	2010		readingfc.co.uk

[edit] Out

Status	EU	Country	N	P	Name	Age	Moving to	Transfer fee	Source
Transferred Y		ENG	4	MF	Sidwell	24	Chelsea	Free	BBC Sport
Transferred Y		ENG	28	DF	Halford	22	Sunderland	£2.5 million	readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y	N	KOR	19	RW	Seol	28	Fulham	Undisclosed	readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG NGA	18	DF	Sodje	28	Charlton Athletic		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		IRL	21	GK	Stack	25	Wolverhampton Wanderers		BBC Sport
Loaned out Y		IRL	25	DF	Bennett	25	Southampton		BBC Sport
Loaned out Y		ENG KEN	26	DF	Osano	20	Rushden & Diamonds		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	31	FW	Cox	20	Swindon Town		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	41	GK	Hamer	19	Brentford		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		IRL	44	MF	Davies	19	Aldershot Town		BBC Sport
Loaned out Y		TUR ENG	40	MF	Karacan	18	Bournemouth		BBC Sport
Loaned out Y		WAL ENG	39	FW	Church	18	Crewe Alexandra		BBC Sport
Loaned out Y		ENG	14	DF	Halls	25	Preston North End		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	34	MF	Henry	18	Bournemouth		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		SCO ENG	35	DF	Pearce	18	Bournemouth		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	33	DF	Golbourne	19	Bournemouth		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	38	DF	Bygrave	18	Gillingham		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	41	GK	Hamer	20	Brentford		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	14	DF	Halls	25	Crystal Palace		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		WAL ENG	39	FW	Church	19	Yeovil Town		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	37	FW	Robson-Kanu	18	Southend United		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	34	MF	Henry	19	Norwich City		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		SCO ENG	35	DF	Pearce	19	Norwich City		readingfc.co.uk
Transferred Y		ENG	31	FW	Cox	20	Swindon Town	Undisclosed	readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG COD	8	FW	Lita	23	Charlton Athletic		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		IRL	25	DF	Bennett	26	Brentford		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		TUR ENG	40	MF	Karacan	19	Millwall		readingfc.co.uk
Loaned out Y		ENG	27	DF	Brown	24	Walsall		readingfc.co.uk

Last updated: 19:43, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; = Undisclosed; = Summer transfer window; = Winter transfer window; n/a = Not applicable.