Greatest Ever RFC Player? Please help me on school project.

[Ian Royal]

It's AQA.

Cheers

I can't comment on players I've never seen like Friday, Death or Senior etc. But of those I've seen over the last 20 years a few stand out.

In goal.
Shaka and Hahnemann. Shaka went on to have a successful career at the top of English football and Hahnemann played successfully at the highest level with us.

In defence.
Wdowczyk, Ingimarsson and Shorey. Wdowczyk was a real classy centreback with a good range of passing, anticipated really well. Ingimarsson was just solid all round and Shorey, well he got an England cap and was at the heart of everything that was good about the 106ers (and then bad about it).

In midfield.
Little, Gilkes, Parkinson and Sidwell. Sidwell went on to spend a long time in the PL and was the driving force at the heart of the 106ers. Little wasn't quick but his close control was almost unbelievable at times and he could pick out a player with a cross to perfection. Gilkes was really quick, and before my time was a deadly winger... though I think we've had plenty wingers better since, he is a club legend so deserves a mention. Parky is far from the best player, but for all his limitations he would run through walls for the team and the fact that the fans still sing about him now speaks volumes.

Upfront.
Kitson and Quinn scored lots of goals and were talented players. If Kitson hadn't been as loath to put the effort in in training as he was and did more to keep his body from breaking down in injury as much and as often, I think he'd have played a fair few games for England.

But when it comes down to it, the greatest, best, most talented player I've seen for Reading is Sigurdsson. The skill of Little, the freekicks of Shorey and the goalscoring ability of Kitson. If Friday has that beat, he was a hellova player.

This is so helpful, Ian, thanks.
My own vote would have to be Sigurdsson from my time, just for pure skill.

Good luck, and make sure you know and understand the learning objectives and marking criteria.

These sorts of courses aren't always as well understood as more traditional general qualifications in terms of what the expectations of the exam board is. And that includes by the tutors in some unfortunate cases. My limited understand is it's often as much, if not more, about the how you manage and investigate and organise the project than what you actually produce at the end.

[Brosef Stalin]

Alright everyone? No need for the "oxf*rd off newbie"s, I'll take those as read.

Long time lurker, only bothered to make an account for this purpose.

Doing an 'extended project' at school, and it seemed like a free qualification as can do it on whatever topic wanted, so have decided to do 'Who was the greatest ever Reading player?'.

In order to help me, could you please give a player name, or even a few of them, and reasons for your choice of their being your greatest ever players? I'm expecting the answer to be Friday, at the end, but it would be helpful to have a few considerations for the sake of the question.

I suppose some reasons could be number of appearances, time at club, 106 squad member etc.

No "Ian Royal" please though.

Many Thanks

Just out of interest, how much help are you getting on this from your school? Do you have weekly sessions?

Exactly that, every Tuesday. I'm pretty well set, in the early stages but have about a term to complete this. Not writing a massive essay, intending to make a short documentary film - include archive footage, pictures, audio and video interviews etc.

Jesus wept but this boy has a lot to learn about working to deadlines
(unless he genuinely thinks talking to mongs on this portal counts as work)

[Swegrebnyak420X]

Jesus wept but this boy has a lot to learn about working to deadlines
(unless he genuinely thinks talking to mongs on this portal counts as work)

You what?
Suprisingly, your opinions and thoughts are worthwhile, for this at least.

[Caversham Royal]

Out of those I've seen play over the years;

Steve Death
Shaka Hislop
Darius Wdowczyk
Simon Osborne
Jimmy Quinn
Paul Canoville (although his time for RFC was far too short due to injury)

[harry]

What about Murts? Over 300 appearances including captaining the side during it's greatest 2 seasons IMO (106 & 1st Prem season).

[sandman]

In defence.
Wdowczyk was a real classy centreback with a good range of passing, anticipated really well. .

I'm sure he's got Mick Gooding's vote.

[Nameless]

Friday is obviously a finalist.
You'd have to at least consider Martin Hicks as 500+ appearances, many as captain, can't be ignored although as a player he was committed rather than elegant.
Parky is another deserving a mention. The classic player who gave us hope that we could make it too, although he was really better than that. You just felt he was one of your mates who had got a game because he had such a bond with the fans.
Ronnie Blackman. Huge number of goals. Good to see it runs in the family.
Glenn Little. My favourite player, just did stuff no one else could, worth going just to see him. Awful table manners though.
Jamie Cureton. Goal machine, nominated for the great red card when he came back with the Fakies.
Jimmy Quinn. Best header of the ball, great goal scorer, very decent keeper, not a bad manager for a while
Adie Williams. Most versatile player, wore every shirt when numbers related to positions. Was decent in some positions too !

[2.8 lita injection]

Personally mine is Shaka Hislop, remember the days at Elm Park when a 1 on 1 occurred he was still big odds on to stop it.

others

Darius Wdowczyk
Jimmy Quinn
Glen Little
Ibrahima Sonko (at his peak)

[Forbury Lion]

As part of the project you could identify the factors that make a player the greatest.

Ability
No of appearances
No of goals
Attitude on the pitch/to the fans
Success
Determination

Phil Parkinson is a legend who had limited ability, few goals and not a great deal of success. However he always gave 100%, made alot of appearances and had a great attitude, He also had a good relationship with the fans & wasn't a diver.

[melonhead]

It has to be , Robin Friday , Gylfi , or Jimmy Quinn . All three different class to any others .

gylfi was best player ive seen for us.
but we only got a season out of him, so would struggle to vote for him
never saw Friday, but his reputation is as much about the other stuff as it is about football

gotta be Quinn.

[maffff]

Really can't wait to read this thesis on the glory of Cedric Baseya.

[East Grinstead Royal]

Friday was outstanding in Division 4. He was pretty decent in Division 3, although he didn't play there for very long. He was certainly the player with more ability to lift a mundane team than any other I have ever seen - no way would Reading have celebrated promotion in 75/76 without him in the side. If he had been fit and suspension-free all season, we would probably gone up as champions rather than in 3rd place. By contract, the great thing about the 106 side was that it was a true TEAM - it didn't rely on a single player to lift it. Every player in the 106 side was fitter and probably a better footballer than Friday, but those players were lucky enough to have been professional footballers at a time when their clubs really looked after them (or, at least, tried - see below). Friday was never looked after by Reading or Cardiff - and he wouldn't have responded well if either club had tried to do so - it was a different era and things were just - well - different. He wasn't looked after by referees either - week after week he was kicked all around the park and if ever he responded, verbally or physically, he was usually booked or sent off. Take a look at footage from the Chelsea v Leeds FA Cup final to see what was "normal" in those days, then consider that what Friday had to put up with was a lot worse.

Also, of course, he had attitude. The V-sign directed towards the Luton 'keeper when he scored his first goal for Cardiff, the turd in the team bath after being sent off. the planting of a kiss on a policeman after scoring against Rochdale (NOT "that" night against Tranmere - anyone who says otherwise wasn't really there!). Attitude like that wouldn't be tolerated nowadays.

There are other contenders - Trevor Senior was the most prolific goal-scorer I've ever seen play for Reading. When he was in the side, the whole team played to his strength - long balls over or through the defence which he could run onto, or high crosses into the box. He was never that successful anywhere else because other clubs expected him to adapt to their style (even the originators of the long-ball game (Watford) couldn't get the best out of him). He wasn't a particularly brilliant footballer, but he was a terrific
scorer of goals.

Gylfi is a good shout. And then there's Leroy Lita, who always struck me as the Reading player with the most unrealised potential - even in the days when clubs were looking after players, he managed to show that too much of the wrong attitude could take a gifted player onto the slippery slope. Lita is one who could have been on the short-list, but sadly isn't.

[genome]

I think Gylfi is probably the most talented player we've ever had. But I don't think you could call him the greatest ever, if he's only had one season with us? That seems weird to me.

[Garry Baldy]

I have supported Reading since 1967 and have seen some wonderful players turn out for us. For different reasons I would give honourable mentions to Martin Hicks, Neil Webb, Trevor Senior, Simon Osborne, Dariusz Wdowczyk, Jimmy Quinn and of course Gylfi. They were all terrific players, but for sheer jaw dropping, breathtaking skill Robin Friday is the greatest of them all.

The argument that he never played at the highest level is a valid one but, for me, irrelevant. I saw Friday's debut and realised instantly that he was no mere journeyman lower division player. He was as brave a player as I have ever seen before or since and when people tell you about "that" goal against Tranmere , then however they describe it doesn't do it justice. It was simply out of this world.

Reading's greatest ever player ? Robin Friday, no question.

[JIM]

G LEWIS record number of goals scored by a mid fielder in 3rd div south.

[Forbury Lion]

What about Murts? Over 300 appearances including captaining the side during it's greatest 2 seasons IMO (106 & 1st Prem season).

Although that will all be for nothing if Dave Kitson is revealed to be the Secret Footballer and his tales relating to the club captain nobody liked who sucked up to management instead of standing up for players and who picked his own testimonial charity as the benefactor for the players auction turn out to relate to Murty.

[Forbury Lion]

Robin Friday is a legend, mostly because for many of us we've only heard of him and were not around at the time to see him. A bit like the legend of Robin Hood only with a football instead of a bow and arrow and a few other differences, but essentially the same story.

Glenn Little - Arguably the most skillful player to play for the club. He was deceptively quick at times but generally seemed to just walk though the opposition with the ball glued to his foot.

[BR2]

As Forbury and Grinstead have already touched upon context IMHO is significant.
Players like;
Denis Allen (Martin's dad)
Richie Bowman
Robin Friday
Tommy Jenkins
Gilksey
Mick Gooding
Simon Osborn
Kerry Dixon
Shaka
were all terrific at the level that they played for us so could be regarded as "great" for their time,i .e. probably capable (proven in Shaka and Dixon's case) of playing at a higher level.
The likes of Shorey, Kitson ,Little and Sidwell did play at the higher level so are proven to be amongst our greatest.

My own personal favourites were all play-makers who could do a bit more in Allen, Bowman,Gooding and Osborn but the most exciting were Friday and Jenkins (such a short period).
Blackman has a bit of what they had and could join the exciting clubif he maintains his progress over a whole season rather than in just a dozen or so matches.
Otherwise in recent years at the higher levels we have generally had more functional types of players rather than exciting.