In August the Club published a new book, 'A Decade Of Dreams', to celebrate our first ten years at Madejski Stadium - and every week here at readingfc.co.uk we are exclusively serialising extracts.
Today's excerpt is taken from Chapter Seven, looking back at the never-to-be-forgotten 2005/6 title-winning campaign.
Midway through the season, the Royals promotion challenge had begun to gather a head of steam and Reading fans began to realise they were watching something special.
The extract below looks at a series of victories in the autumn as Steve Coppell attempted to play down the increasing optimism within the ranks.
The 256-page fully illustrated hardback book is available now in the Madejski Stadium Megastore, by mail order on 0118 907 0372 and in our online shop here.
Chapter Seven - Title Glory
Without boasting arrogance, winning was becoming par for the course for Steve Coppell's unstoppable outfit. Hull threatened briefly to steal a point from their trip to Berkshire only for Reading to characteristically slide into another gear and fire two in two minutes - the second a stunning counter attack started and tidily finished by Little. Kingsley promptly received his first clattering as Little's windmill arms spiralled into the mascot in front of a jubilant North Stand.
Days later, Reading topped the table after another imperious performance sealed a 3-0 win at Ipswich. Steve Coppell, of course, remained the calming influence. "You tell me that we're top, but I wasn't aware of that," he informed the press. "All we are trying to do is win games. We haven't been chasing anyone, it's not part of our psyche to try to chase or get away from anyone. Just stick the next game in front of us and we'll try to win it. People may think I'm putting a dampener on things, but it really means nothing to me at this stage of the season."
Then came one of the lines that would become a Coppell favourite in post-match analyses: "We don't want the highlight of our season to be in November." The down-to-earth boss would reiterate that way of thinking for months to come, even though Reading began to race away with the division in a manner that very few had ever done before.
The squad's strength had been evident in a Carling Cup campaign which saw a shuffled pack claim victories over Swansea City (in extra time), Luton Town and then promotion rivals Sheffield United - Kitson bagging a brace to upset Neil Warnock further. Those wins earned Reading a plum Fourth Round tie at Arsenal. For the first time since the opening day loss to Plymouth, Reading tasted defeat, but the players had savoured a taste of top flight football and had played a part in Highbury's farewell season.
After Little's special 25-yard lob at Plymouth had given Reading some revenge over their opening day conquerors, the Royals returned to Madejski Stadium to dispose of Luton. "Anybody who's got money on them can cash their chips in," Hatters boss Mike Newell boldly claimed. On the flipside, Coppell was still praying the post-Christmas slump that ruined their previous season wouldn't repeat itself.
As the festive season approached, half season tickets began to sell in droves as an area of England somewhat starved of top class football sensed the Premier League might become a real possibility. Nobody wanted to miss out and as a frantic festive period got underway crowds quickly built to regularly reach something approaching capacity for the first time in the stadium's history. Reading responded emphatically.
Kitson struck a second half hat-trick as five were fired past a luckless Brighton, who started the rot with an own goal before being reduced to ten men and conceding a penalty six minutes after the break. "The Reading people need to have a look at themselves," a bitter Mark McGhee snapped. "They sat there quiet for an hour and didn't get behind their team other than giving me some stick."
Despite finding himself 17 points clear of third-placed Watford, Coppell again deadened the furore. "We don't mention the 'P' word. I never look at the table - but I'm aware of the gap because everyone keeps telling me!
"I don't want to look at the table because it can affect the way you do things. You end up tailoring what you do depending on the opposition, and we can't do that. I read the reports in the newspapers and look at the team line-ups, who's played where and done what, but I never look at the table. When I took Palace up I used to study the tables, so this is a fresh invention!"
Read the full story in 'A Decade Of Dreams', available now in the Madejski Stadium Megastore, by mail order on 0118 907 0372 and in our online shop here.
