When : Saturday August 24, 2024, 3pm
Where : Racecourse Ground, Mold Road, Wrexham, LL11 2AH, Wales
Capacity : 13,214
Time for the biggest game so far, Wrexham. Big Phil's Welsh superstars are no mugs and are packed full of Hollywood glitz, even having their very own TV show relaying their everyday stuff to anyone with a Dis(ney)mal+ subscription.
Other than that cup win a decade or so ago, the record v Parky sides is not all that. Reading have not won any of the 5 league games played against teams managed by Phil but, then, Reading have only lost 1 of those 5 games so a draw would probably be an unsurprising solution for all parties on Saturday.
Two years ago Wrexham were between a 5-0 home trouncing of Maidstone and a 3-2 win at Woking while Reading were between a 1-0 home win v Middlesbrough and a 1-0 win at Millwall. Now they're meeting on equal terms for the first time since December 2001. For Wrexham it's been two years of unbridled success that they've not seen for a good 50 years while for Reading it's been two of the most miserable seasons possible but the hope is now that those 2 years are over and Reading can get some succes back while Wrexham return to being something more normal.
Wrexham have numerous very talented players to try and stop, not least former Reading favourite George Evans. Add to that the "famous names" you've been watching on the telly, thinking they'd be a good option for Reading, like Elliott Lee, Jack Marriott, Paul Mullin and the "still playing at 37" Steven Fletcher and you can see this is possibly going to be Ruben's biggest game thus far.
The main issue will be that this is a side that has known nothing but success for two years, have essentially rampaged through two divisions and has not changed all that much. Many of the players were playing in non league 2 years ago so they will have that understanding and "all for one" ethic that the likes of Birmingham and other big hitters are still trying to build this season. However Selles seems to be getting to grips with this management lark and showing signs of being one of the brighter sparks out there so hopefully he'll devise something that frustrates Parky's usual 3-5-2 set up and gives them the problems.
Some good news for Reading is that Wrexham will be without Paul Mullin due to injury but without him they've already beaten Wycombe at home and given a very good account of themselves at Bolton in getting a point. A point that puts them on the same number of points as Reading this season though Reading have their heads higher in the table thanks to Wifi netting a second v Wigan last week.
Reading will still be without long term casualties Ryan and Yiadom, while Knibbs is at least another 2 weeks away from returning to the field. One hopes that the never ending saga will finally have ended and that there would have been time to add some depth to the squad overall, but chances are it'll be Reading's bare bones v Wrexham's more than enough to cover every eventuality.
Referee
Ross Joyce
Previously...
20 Feb 24 > Reading 2-0 Port Vale
13 Jan 24 > Reading A-A Port Vale
Historically
There have been 26 previous league games against the red dragons which means 13 trips to the Racecourse and of those 13 games Reading have won as many as Wrexham - 6. The last defeat there for the Royals was that utterly embarrassing opening day capitulation starring van der Kwaak and Kromheer back in August 1998. Since then Reading have won 3 out of 3 visits, however, I think making it 4 from 4 will probably be the biggest achievement since Selles arrived, esp. given that Wrexham have only lost 4 league games at home in the last 3 years.
How to follow the game
- Get a ticket and go
- Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
- Ring/text a mate for updates
- Use a RoyalsTV subscription
- BBC Radio Berkshire (FM ; 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4, BBC iPlayer Radio (other radio apps are available ))
