Worst ever Reading FC X1

[Forbury Lion]

Bump

[stealthpapes]

Simon Sheppard
Liam Rosenior
Paul Bodin
Matt Mills
Bongani Khumalo
Paul Brooker
Mark Reilly
David Meyler
Royston Drenthe
Paul Brayson
Joseph Mendes

Khumalo was so shit we were forced to buy Gorkss and the rest is history. So I can’t be too mad at him.

Similar feelings towards Mendes. He was awful but I can’t dislike him because of that one amazing game against Villa.

yeah, I saw him in one game and he was electric. Barely left an impression afterwards.

[stealthpapes]

Got to be looked at in the context of transfer fees. So:

Craig Maskell. Record signing who was ok, but nowhere near as good as he should have been. And replaced Deano "Dean" Horrix I think so was always onto a loser.

Carl Asaba. Record signing. Wasn't terrible but he was no Jimmy Quinn.

Lee Nogan. Controversial? Record signing (I think?). Had a glorious 4 months than nearly took us to The Prem including several of the most memorable goals in our history. But, apart from that four months, he was pretty bog average.

Controversial?

He was great in Corrie.

[Sutekh]

Got to be looked at in the context of transfer fees. So:

Craig Maskell. Record signing who was ok, but nowhere near as good as he should have been. And replaced Deano "Dean" Horrix I think so was always onto a loser.

Carl Asaba. Record signing. Wasn't terrible but he was no Jimmy Quinn.

Lee Nogan. Controversial? Record signing (I think?). Had a glorious 4 months than nearly took us to The Prem including several of the most memorable goals in our history. But, apart from that four months, he was pretty bog average.

Then there was Steve Moran who was never as good as he should have been and, I think, essentially morphed into Craig Maskell.

Reading’s best strikers always arrive for next to no cost - Dixon, Senior, Bremner, Quinn, Morley etc.

[stealthpapes]

It shocked me to discover Steve Moran was PFA young player of the year* in the early 80s. His record before Reading is really solid but it does mention a recurring back injury.


* I mean, one of these is not like the others

1981: Shaw 1982: Moran 1983: Rush 1984: Walsh 1985: Hughes 1986: Cottee 1987: Adams 1988: Gascoigne 1989: Merson 1990: Le Tissier 1991: Sharpe 1992: Giggs 1993: Giggs 1994: Cole 1995: Fowler 1996: Fowler 1997: Beckham 1998: Owen 1999: Anelka 2000: Kewell 2001: Gerrard 2002: Bellamy 2003: Jenas 2004: Parker 2005: Rooney 2006: Rooney 2007: Ronaldo 2008: Fàbregas 2009: Young 2010: Milner 2011: Wilshere2012: Walker2013: Bale2014: Hazard2015: Kane2016: Alli2017: Alli2018: Sané2019: Sterling2020: Alexander-Arnold2021: Foden2022: Foden2023: Saka2024: Palmer

[Dirk Gently]

Of all of those, Drenthe is probably the worst player ever to have played for us.

You must be too young to remember Sean Evers?

[Dirk Gently]

Got to be looked at in the context of transfer fees. So:

Carl Asaba. Record signing. Wasn't terrible but he was no Jimmy Quinn.

He was perfectly fine in his proper role, as an attacking wide player/inside forward. But he and Jim McIntyre both suffered exactly the same problem, that when they were both signed Reading needed a big centre forwards/target men and that's what Reading fans expected and wanted these players to be and what the manager at the time played them as.

So when they obviously weren't big centre forwards/target men they were deemed failures.

[traff]

Thought Colin Gordon should be on this list but can maybe just miss out for those two goals at Chelsea.
"Singing in the rain"

[Sutekh]

Thought Colin Gordon should be on this list but can maybe just miss out for those two goals at Chelsea.
"Singing in the rain"

Absolutely. Colin Gordon is now manager of the England Powerchair football team and his son, Chris, is the goalkeeper.

[leon]

Got to be looked at in the context of transfer fees. So:

Craig Maskell. Record signing who was ok, but nowhere near as good as he should have been. And replaced Deano "Dean" Horrix I think so was always onto a loser.

Carl Asaba. Record signing. Wasn't terrible but he was no Jimmy Quinn.

Lee Nogan. Controversial? Record signing (I think?). Had a glorious 4 months than nearly took us to The Prem including several of the most memorable goals in our history. But, apart from that four months, he was pretty bog average.

Controversial?

He was great in Corrie.

I love you Didrie

[South Coast Royal]

Before adding to the listing of bad players can I just briefly mention a few good signings for little or no money:
David Lee (loan)
Tommy Jenkins
Kerry Dixon
Dean Horrix
Trevor Senior
Mick Gooding
Phil Parkinson
Simon Osborn
Darius Wdowczyk
Jamie Cureton

Back to topic, I had forgotten Steve Moran but can't agree with Jerry on Lee Nogan.
That partnership with Archie was brilliant in the first season and I get the feeling that Nogan was probably the type who lacked confidence and I blame Quinny for signing Morley and then making us into a long ball side that hoped to get free kicks and penalties.
All the good work of McGhee making us a passing team (even Stevie Richardson) went down the pan.

I guess our listings are not much different to other clubs but it does feel as though we have had more than our fair share of duds.

[Sutekh]

Before adding to the listing of bad players can I just briefly mention a few good signings for little or no money:
David Lee (loan)
Tommy Jenkins
Kerry Dixon
Dean Horrix
Trevor Senior
Mick Gooding
Phil Parkinson
Simon Osborn
Darius Wdowczyk
Jamie Cureton

Back to topic, I had forgotten Steve Moran but can't agree with Jerry on Lee Nogan.
That partnership with Archie was brilliant in the first season and I get the feeling that Nogan was probably the type who lacked confidence and I blame Quinny for signing Morley and then making us into a long ball side that hoped to get free kicks and penalties.
All the good work of McGhee making us a passing team (even Stevie Richardson) went down the pan.

I guess our listings are not much different to other clubs but it does feel as though we have had more than our fair share of duds.

Think some of that “switch” was down to Madejski’s refusal to agree a budget that would have allowed Q&G to build a promotion challenging team. Still rankles that when he did loosen the purse strings it was to allow his cash to be utterly wasted by Bullivant and then Burns.

[stealthpapes]

Plus Morley's stats for the full season he played here are mildly ludicrous.

1995-96 - 4 goals in 17 league games (but that includes a spell out with the head injury)
1996-97 - 23 goals from 37 league games
1997-98 - 5 goals in 23 league games

Nogan's spell here is basically the best form in his career.

[Sutekh]

Plus Morley's stats for the full season he played here are mildly ludicrous.

1995-96 - 4 goals in 17 league games (but that includes a spell out with the head injury)
1996-97 - 23 goals from 37 league games
1997-98 - 5 goals in 23 league games

Nogan's spell here is basically the best form in his career.

Trevor is now 63 and lives in Norway where he works in television.

Lee Nogan (55), last heard of as assistant manager to Neil Aspin at Port Vale in 2019.