2006–07 Reading F.C. season

Reading F.C.

2006–07 season
Chairman	John Madejski
Manager	Steve Coppell
FA Premier League	8th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Kevin Doyle (13) All: Leroy Lita (14)
Highest home attendance	24,122 (vs. Aston Villa, 10 February)
Lowest home attendance	10,353 (vs. Darlington, 19 September)
← 2005–06 2007–08 →

The 2006–07 season was Reading Football Club's first season in the Premier League, and their first season in the top flight of English football. Reading also participated in the League Cup, beating Darlington in the second round before losing 4–3 to Liverpool at Anfield. Reading entered the FA Cup at the third round stage, defeating Burnley 3-2 and then Birmingham City by the same score to meet Manchester United in the Fifth Round. After drawing the initial game 1–1 at Old Trafford, Reading lost 2–3 at home in the replay ten days later, conceding the three goals in the first six minutes of the match. They finished the season in eighth place, collecting 55 points from 38 matches.

Review and events

August

Reading's first ever Premier League game came at home to Middlesbrough. Reading were 2–0 down after 20 minutes after goals from Stewart Downing and Yakubu, but ended up 3−2 winners through goals from Dave Kitson, Steve Sidwell and Leroy Lita. Kitson, however, was injured in a reckless tackle by Chris Riggott, and would not play again until the end of January 2007.

Reading's next game was against Aston Villa. After an early lead through Kevin Doyle, Ibrahima Sonko conceded a penalty and was sent off. Juan Pablo Ángel scored the resulting penalty for Villa, and Gareth Barry scored in the 61st minute to seal a win for Villa. The Royals next played Wigan Athletic, Emile Heskey scoring the only goal in a 1−0 win for Wigan.

September

In September, Reading's first game was against Manchester City, live on Sky Sports at home. Ívar Ingimarsson scored the only goal, despite being knocked unconscious before scoring. The first game against a side promoted with Reading was Sheffield United. Kevin Doyle scored after 16 seconds and in the 25th minute, followed by Seol Ki-hyeon scoring a 25-yard belter. Rob Hulse pulled a goal back in the 61st minute, but it was not enough for Sheffield United, who lost 2−1. Reading's first cup game came against Darlington, but Reading needed penalties after an exciting 3−3 draw. Next up were league runners up Manchester United at the Madejski. Reading ensured it was goalless at half-time and went 1−0 up through a Kevin Doyle penalty after Gary Neville handballed. Cristiano Ronaldo, however, scored a 73rd-minute goal to make it 1−1.

October

In October, Reading played West Ham at Upton Park where a second-minute goal turned out to be the winner, scored by Seol. Reading–Chelsea hit the headlines as both Chelsea goalkeepers were knocked out in a match where the visitors took a fortuitous 1−0 win. Frank Lampard scored Chelsea's goal which took two deflections before going in. The goal was given as an Ívar Ingimarsson own goal. In the same match 2), Robin van Persie and Alexander Hleb scoring. Shane Long made his first Premier League start in this match. Reading also lost 4−3 to Liverpool in the Carling Cup (Reading were 3−0 down).

November

In November, Reading lost 2−0 to Liverpool (which was also the first ever league meeting between the two sides). The goals came from Dirk Kuyt.The Royals then won 3−1 against Tottenham Hotspur. Robbie Keane opened the scoring for Spurs before Nicky Shorey scored a 25-yard goal. Then Steve Sidwell scored a header on the stroke of half-time with Kevin Doyle completing the scoring to make it 3−1. Reading's next match was against Charlton. They won 2−0 with the goals coming from Seol Ki-hyeon and Doyle. They ended the month with a 1−0 win over Fulham with a penalty kick from Doyle, after the striker had been bought down by Ian Pearce.

December

In December, Reading Won 1−0 at Bolton, a Kevin Doyle goal won the match. Next was Reading's longest away trip this season when Reading played Newcastle United. Reading lost 3−2, an 84th-minute winner by Emre. Reading played Watford in the worst game of the season, Watford 0−0). Reading and Blackburn Rovers was the next game at the Madjeski. Reading went 1–0 up on half-time, but Rovers scored two goals to make it Reading 1−2 Rovers. Chelsea played Reading next, two months after the teams played in Reading; the match ended 2−2. Reading then played Manchester United: Reading were losing 1−0, but Sonko scored to level the game. United then scored two goals though Cristiano Ronaldo to make it 3−1, although Lita scored a consolation goal to make the final score United 3−2 Reading.

January

In January, Reading could not have got a better start. On New Year's Day, Reading put six past West Ham United. On 6 January, Reading were due to play Burnley in the FA Cup but it was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, but Reading beat Burnley on the Tuesday night, a 3−2 win. Reading went to Everton unbeaten in the new year, and the game ended 1−1 in a match attended by Sylvester Stallone as an Everton supporter and guest of the chairman. Reading played Sheffield United at 2−0 Reading came a push-up in the dug out. Warnock and Downs sent off. Reading won 3−1. Reading Played Birmingham in the FA Cup (again). Birmingham had just enjoyed a 5−1 win at Newcastle United but they lost 3−2 to the Royals. Reading beat Wigan by the same score.

February

In February, Reading beat Manchester City away and Aston Villa at home. Both ending 2–0. At Old Trafford, Reading drew 1−1 with United in the FA Cup. Boro became the first team to beat Reading in 2007. Boro won 2−1. Reading were 3–0 down in the FA Cup 5th Round Replay against United in 5 minutes 41 seconds, but fought back to lose by only 3−2.

March to May

In March, April and May, Reading lost at Arsenal 2−1. Reading were 2−0 down, but drawing 0−0 at half-time, in the 87th minute when Arsenal scored an own goal courtesy of Cesc Fàbregas. Reading got a point at home to Portsmouth drawing 0−0. Reading lost to Spurs 1−0. Spurs scored a consolation penalty on half-time. Liverpool won at Reading 2−1. Liverpool's winner was in the 85th minute by Kuyt. Reading were held to a 0−0 draw at Charlton. Reading won at home to Fulham. They won at Bolton, 3−1, after being 1−0 down in the 85th minute. A midweek win at home to Newcastle United, 1−0, Kitson scored for the Royals. Reading shockingly lost to Watford at home 2−0. On the final day of the season, Reading played Blackburn Rovers away and needing a win to enter the UEFA Cup, Reading drew 3−3.

Squad

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Marcus Hahnemann 2 DF Graeme Murty[1] 3 DF Nicky Shorey 4 MF Steve Sidwell 5 DF Ibrahima Sonko 6 MF Brynjar Gunnarsson 7 MF Glen Little 8 FW Leroy Lita[2] 9 FW Kevin Doyle 10 MF Stephen Hunt 11 MF John Oster[3] 12 FW Dave Kitson 14 DF John Halls 15 MF James Harper 16 DF Ívar Ingimarsson

No. Position Player 17 MF Bobby Convey 18 DF Sam Sodje[4] 19 MF Seol Ki-hyeon 21 GK Graham Stack[5] 22 DF André Bikey 23 DF Ulises de la Cruz 24 FW Shane Long 26 DF Curtis Osano 28 DF Greg Halford 29 DF Michael Duberry 31 FW Simon Cox[6] 32 GK Adam Federici 33 DF Scott Golbourne 35 DF Alex Pearce[7] 47 DF Péter Máté (on loan from Debrecen)

Reserve/Academy squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 20 MF Jonny Hayes 25 DF Alan Bennett 27 DF Aaron Brown

No. Position Player 30 MF Scott Davies[8] 34 MF James Henry[9] 36 GK Mikkel Andersen

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee
12 July 2006[10]	DF		Sam Sodje	Brentford	£350,000
12 July 2006[11]	MF		Seol Ki-hyeon	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£1,500,000
11 August 2006[12]	DF		André Bikey	Lokomotiv Moscow	Season-long loan
25 August 2006[13]	DF		Ulises de la Cruz	Aston Villa	Free
30 August 2006[14]	DF		Péter Máté	Debrecen	Season-long loan
26 January 2007[15]	GK		Mikkel Andersen	AB	Undisclosed
30 January 2007	DF		Alan Bennett	Cork City	Undisclosed
30 January 2007[16]	DF		Greg Halford	Colchester United	Undisclosed
31 January 2007[17]	DF		Michael Duberry	Stoke City	Undisclosed
24 April 2007[18]	DF		André Bikey	Lokomotiv Moscow	£1,000,000

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee
January 2007	FW		Pierre Joseph-Dubois	Released
January 2007	DF		Curtis Ujah	Tamworth	Free
June 2007	MF		Jonny Hayes	Leicester City	Free[19]
11 June 2007	DF		Greg Halford	Sunderland	£2,500,000[20]
1 July 2007	MF		Steve Sidwell	Chelsea	Free[21]

Released

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Joined	Date
November 2006	MF		Conor Sinnott	Wexford Youths	January 2007

Competitions

Competition	Started round	Current position / round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
Premier League	—	8th		19 August 2006	13 May 2007
Football League Cup	2nd round	—	3rd round	19 September 2006	25 October 2006
FA Cup	3rd round	—	R5	9 January 2007	27 February 2007

Source: Competitions

Premiership

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	16	7	15	52	47	+5	55	11	2	6	29	20	+9	5	5	9	23	27	−4

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	W	L	L	W	W	D	W	L	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	L	L	D	L	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	W	W	W	D	L
Position	4	10	14	8	6	7	7	8	9	10	11	11	8	7	6	6	6	7	9	9	9	9	9	7	7	6	6	6	7	7	8	9	9	8	7	7	7	8

Source: [ ]
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Results

League table

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Comments
1	Manchester United (C)	38	28	5	5	83	27	+56	89	2007–08 UEFA Champions League Group stage1
2	Chelsea	38	24	11	3	64	24	+40	83	2007–08 UEFA Champions League Group stage1
3	Liverpool	38	20	8	10	57	27	+30	68	2007–08 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
4	Arsenal	38	19	11	8	63	35	+28	68	2007–08 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round
5	Tottenham Hotspur	38	17	9	12	57	54	+3	60	2007–08 UEFA Cup First round
6	Everton	38	15	13	10	52	36	+16	58	2007–08 UEFA Cup First round1
7	Bolton Wanderers	38	16	8	14	47	52	−5	56	2007–08 UEFA Cup First round1
8	Reading	38	16	7	15	52	47	+5	55
9	Portsmouth	38	14	12	12	45	42	+3	54
10	Blackburn Rovers	38	15	7	16	52	54	−2	52	2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round2
11	Aston Villa	38	11	17	10	43	41	+2	50
12	Newcastle United	38	12	10	16	44	49	−5	46
13	Middlesbrough	38	11	10	17	38	47	−9	43
14	Manchester City	38	11	9	18	29	44	−15	42
15	West Ham United	38	12	5	21	35	59	−24	41
16	Fulham	38	8	15	15	38	60	−22	39
17	Wigan Athletic	38	10	8	20	37	59	−22	38
18	Sheffield United (R)	38	10	8	20	32	55	−23	38	Relegated to Football League Championship 2007–08
19	Charlton Athletic (R)	38	8	10	20	34	60	−26	34
20	Watford (R)	38	5	13	20	29	59	−30	28

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

^1. Since the finalists of the 2006–07 FA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and the League Cup winners (Chelsea) had already qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League through their Premier League positions, their 2007–08 UEFA Cup places were given to the 6th- and 7th-placed Premier League teams.

^2.The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.^[22] A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway.

For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition.

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Statistics

Appearances

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Marcus Hahnemann	38	0	38	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF		Graeme Murty	24	0	23	0	1	0	0	0
3	DF		Nicky Shorey	39	1	37	1	2	0	0	0
4	MF		Steve Sidwell	37	4	35	4	2	0	0	0
5	DF		Ibrahima Sonko	23	1	23	1	0	0	0	0
6	MF		Brynjar Gunnarsson	27	4	23	3	2	1	2	0
7	MF		Glen Little	28	0	18+6	0	0+2	0	2	0
8	FW		Leroy Lita	38	14	22+11	7	2+1	4	2	3
9	FW		Kevin Doyle	34	13	28+4	13	1	0	1	0
10	MF		Stephen Hunt	38	4	28+7	4	0+1	0	2	0
11	MF		John Oster	31	1	6+19	1	4	0	2	0
12	FW		Dave Kitson	17	4	9+4	2	3+1	2	0	0
14	DF		John Halls	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
15	MF		James Harper	40	3	36+2	3	1	0	1	0
16	DF		Ívar Ingimarsson	42	2	38	2	3	0	1	0
17	MF		Bobby Convey	12	0	8+1	0	3	0	0	0
18	DF		Sam Sodje	7	1	2+1	0	2+1	1	1	0
19	MF		Seol Ki-hyeon	31	4	22+5	4	4	0	0	0
21	GK		Graham Stack	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
22	DF		André Bikey	21	1	7+8	0	4	0	2	1
23	DF		Ulises de la Cruz	15	1	9	1	4	0	2	0
24	FW		Shane Long	25	2	9+12	1	1	1	3	0
26	DF		Curtis Osano	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
28	DF		Greg Halford	3	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0
29	DF		Michael Duberry	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0
31	FW		Simon Cox	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
32	GK		Adam Federici	6	0	0+2	0	4	0	0	0
33	DF		Scott Golbourne	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
35	DF		Alex Pearce	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
47	DF		Péter Máté	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1

Top scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Number	Name	Championship	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW		8	Leroy Lita	7	4	3	14
2	FW		19	Kevin Doyle	13	0	0	13
3	MF		4	Steve Sidwell	4	0	0	4
	MF		10	Stephen Hunt	4	0	0	4
	MF		19	Seol Ki-hyeon	4	0	0	4
				Own goals	4	0	0	4
	DF		6	Brynjar Gunnarsson	3	1	0	4
	FW		12	Dave Kitson	2	2	0	4
	FW		24	Shane Long	2	1	1	4
10	MF		15	James Harper	3	0	0	3
11	DF		16	Ívar Ingimarsson	2	0	0	2
12	DF		23	Ulises de la Cruz	1	0	0	1
	MF		11	John Oster	1	0	0	1
	DF		5	Ibrahima Sonko	1	0	0	1
	DF		3	Nicky Shorey	1	0	0	1
	DF		22	André Bikey	0	1	0	1
	DF		18	Sam Sodje	0	1	0	1
	DF		47	Péter Máté	0	0	1	1
				TOTALS	54	9	6	69

Awards

Premier League Manager of the Month

MONTH	Name	Award
September	Steve Coppell	Won[23]
November	Steve Coppell	Won[24]

PFA Young Player of the Year

Position	Name	Award
FW	Kevin Doyle	Nominated

Barclays Golden Glove Award

Name	Clean sheets	Award
Marcus Hahnemann	13	Third[25][26]

Team kit

Reading's kit for the 2006–07 was manufactured by Puma, and the main sponsor was Kyocera.

2006–07 home colours

2006–07 away colours

2006–07 third choice colours

References