News and Views
Some of Readings Best Managers in History
20 October 2022
By Hob Nob Anyone?
Reading Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in English football having been established in 1871. Known as the ‘Royals’ due to their location in the Royal County of Berkshire, Reading play their home matches at the Madejski Stadium, a stadium that exhibits a thrilling atmosphere. Although some people prefer to watch the game from home, just like some casino players prefer to have a go at an online live casino uk. Having said that, it’s worth to go watch Reading at Madejski Stadium every once in a while. Let’s check out some of the men who have tried bringing success to Reading.
Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew was the manager of Reading for close to 4 years and that makes him their second longest serving manager of the past 30 years. Pardew won close to 50% of his matches in charge of Reading between 1999 and 2003 and it was his first experience as a manager. During his time at Reading, Pardew helped the club achieve automatic promotion to Division One and reached the playoffs the following season in the Championship.
Jaap Stam
A no nonsense central defender in his playing days, Jaap Stam achieved enormous success in English football at Manchester United. The Dutchman was manager of Reading between June 2016 and March 2018, and it was his first full managerial position. Stam led the club to the Championship playoffs in his first season but struggled in the following campaign. Having come so close to the Premier League, Stam left the club on the back of a poor run of results.
Steve Coppell
Steve Coppell is the longest serving Reading manager since 1989 and he was at the club for over 5 years between 2003 and 2009. Coppell was an experienced manager by the time he joined Reading and is arguably the best manager in the history of the club. In his second season, Coppell took Reading to the Premier League, winning the Championship and setting a new league record of 33 games unbeaten. The first campaign in the Premier League was hugely successful and Reading finished 8th but the club were relegated the following season.
Veljko Paunovic
Veljko Paunovic joined reading in August 2020 and the Serbian arrived having left his previous role at Major League Soccer team Chicago Fire. Things started well for Paunovic, and he even won the Manager of the Month Award for September in the Championship. Reading narrowly missed out on a playoff place in the 2020/21 season but Paunovic still did well. Unfortunately, Reading received a six-point deduction the following season and Paunovic left the club by mutual consent in February 2022.
Brian McDermott
Going back to December 2009 and we come to Brian McDermott, who has had two spells as manager of Reading. Having initially started as a caretaker manager, McDermott enjoyed some good FA Cup runs with Reading and took them to the Premier League in 2012. McDermott was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Month for January but was sacked two months later and the club were relegated.
Conclusion
Reading have enjoyed some fantastic times with the above-mentioned managers at the club. Both Coppell and McDermott can claim to be the best managers in the history of the club, having taking Reading to the topflight. However, the job done by Pardew, Stam, and Paunovic cannot be underestimated.
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