When : Saturday, 15th October 2022, 3pm
Where : Madejski Stadium, Reading, RG2 0FL
Capacity : 24,161
West Bromwich Albion are teetering on the edge of same abyss that Reading have been staring at for much of the last 5 years only for the Baggies third division football may well spell the end for the current incarnation of the club esp. with several cupboards of financial skeletons that now seem to be waiting behind them to burst open. If those cupboards are to be secured and cleaned out then WBA need to propel themselves up the table as rapidly as they can and exit the division by way of promotion this season, thus a decision has been taken to relieve Steve Bruce of his managerial duties in an effort to start that climb.
Roy Keane seems to be the slight favourite to take over followed by Chris Wilder and Sean Dyche, there is also some suggestion that Coventry’s Mark Robins might be on their radar. Currently running things is U21s coach Richard Beale assisted by James Morrison and Gary Walsh but whoever is finally appointed will change the current dynamic at the club and therefore all that has gone before is likely to be forgotten - especially with the playing squad available to the Throstles.
Thus far the Baggies have been poor but difficult to beat. They’ve not won since beating Hull 5-2 in August which is now a run of 8 games. However 5 of those 8 have been drawn and the three losses have all been by 1 goal so even without the managerial change this game was likely to be a tight affair.
As we know they now possess the mecurial talent of John Swift who has been one of their better performers (2 goals in 12) and is likely to be more than up for this game. Given we don’t want him too determined, I hope the Reading fans give him a nice warm welcome before and after the game (though he’ll probably get the usual stick during the game). The WBA midfield though is what needs to be stopped as not only is there the former player threat there is also the more than useful Grady Diangana and Jayson Molumby as well as that continual right Royal pain in the Reading backside of Jed Wallace to stifle. The main forward threat comes in the shape of Karlan Grant who secured the 3 points for WBA in the same fixture last season.
Semi Ajayi and Darrell Dike are out with injury while Kenneth Zohore and Alex Mowatt may both return to the fold after falling out of favour under the previous regime.
Shane Long is probably the nearest to a return of the recent Reading casualties while Sam Hutchinson is a doubt after having to go off early v QPR. Azeez, Sarr, Moore, Dann and Rahman will remain sidelined.
Referee
Tim Robinson
Record
39 yellows and 1 red in 9 games so far - averages about 4.5 bookings a game
Previously
23 Apr 22 > Hull City 3-0 Reading
19 Jan 22 > Reading 0-2 Luton Town
18 Sep 21 Reading 3-1 Peterborough United
06 Feb 21 > Stoke City 0-0 Reading
09 Dec 20 > Reading 1-2 Birmingham City
19 Sep 20 > Reading 2-0 Barnsley
18 Jul 20 > Blackburn Rovers 4-3 Reading
07 Dec 19 > Reading 2-3 Birmingham City
06 Apr 19 > Hull City 3-1 Reading
01 Jan 19 > Reading 1-4 Swansea City
19 Sep 18 > Reading 1-2 Norwich City
16 Jan 18 > Reading 3-0 Stevenage (FA Cup 3)
30 Sep 17 > Reading 1-2 Norwich City
29 Apr 17 > Reading 1-0 Wigan Athletic
01 Oct 16 > Reading 1-1 Derby County
02 Feb 16 > Ipswich Town 2-1 Reading
21 Sep 13 > Derby County 1-3 Reading
Historically
This is the nineteenth league season shared with WBA, of which 15 have been since 1986/87. So far the home record is pretty close with 7 wins for WBA and 5 for Reading with 6 drawn which is possibly not too bad considering the Throstles’ are largely a tier 1/2 yo-yo club and at least this is the home fixture rather than the away version which, in the league, is a bit of a graveyard for the Biscuitmen. For the record though Reading haven’t won any of the last 3 home league games and even the last time they did win in the league at home they were 2-0 down with 8 minutes left so Reading do seem to like doing it the hard way if at all!
Conversely though, perhaps this should be sold to the players as a cup game as WBA do appear to have very big issues when facing Reading in a cup competition as their 0 wins and 4 defeats from the 6 cup played games in Reading shows.
WBA, though, have only failed to score on 2 occasions in the league at Reading and Reading themselves have only failed to score on 4 occasions so it all rather suggests there are goals to be had in this one - so let’s hope they turn up for the home team for a change.
How to follow the game
- Get a ticket and travel to the Mad Stad (it just sounds better than SCL)
- Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
- Ring/text a mate for updates
- Use a RoyalTV subscription
- BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)
