Match Preview - Reading V Burnley, FAC3, Sat 6 Jan 07

[handbags_harris]

The Match

Reading V Burnley
FA Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 6 January 2007
Kick off 3pm

The Ref

Chris Foy of Merseyside. For more information click here

Current League Positions

Reading are currently 9th in the Barclaycard Premiership with 30 points from 22 games.
Burnley are currently 12th in the Coca Cola Championship with 37 points from 26 games.

League Form

Reading won their first game of 2007 6-0 against West Ham United to record their first win since 2nd December, their first 3 point for 6 games.
Burnley went the whole of December without a win, their last 3 points coming against Leeds United (2-1 at Turf Moor) on 28 November. Burnley’s last scheduled game, a home match against Stoke City, was postponed on 1st January.

Latest Squad News

Current news from the Reading camp is that Brynjar Gunnarsson limped off with 2 minutes to go in the win against West Ham United. Graeme Murty is a doubt after missing the West Ham game having limped off in the 3-2 defeat against Manchester United. Sam Sodje returns from suspension after being sent off against Manchester United for 2 bookable offences and could start as Steve Coppell is certain to rotate his squad and give fringe players a chance of first team football.
Burnley on the other hand have already been busy in the transfer window, buying back Ade Akinbiyi from Sheffield United for £750,000 only a year after he upped sticks to go to Sheffield United (cracking bit of business by Neil Warnock again after buying him for £1.75 million). Defender John McGreal also made a comeback in the Clarets 2-0 defeat away at Hull City after a hip injury. Otherwise Burnley boss Steve Cotterill has a full squad to choose from for their visit to the Madejski Stadium.

History

Nicknamed The Clarets due to their claret and blue strip, Burnley FC have played at Turf Moor since 1883, and were founder members of The Football League in 1888.
Burnley have been Football League Champions twice, in 1920-21 and 1959-60, and were FA Cup winners on April 25, 1914, beating Liverpool F.C. 1-0 at Crystal Palace.
Burnley have been outside the top flight since 1976 and from 1985 endured a seven-year spell in the lowest tier of the Football League. In 1987 they narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference. Since 2000, they have been in the second tier of the English league.

Club colours

In the early years, various designs and colours were used by the Burnley club. Earlier kits included an all blue shirt with whites shorts. Another design was a white shirt with a blue sash. For a majority of the first decade of their existence, Burnley wore shirts with narrow blue and white stripes, black shorts and black socks.
Between 1892 and 1902 a combination of black with amber stripes was used. From 1902 until 1910 the club changed to an all green shirt, with white shorts and black socks. In 1910 it was decided to adopt the claret and blue of the football league champions Aston Villa. As history shows, this move seems to have had some effect.

Famous Fans

Famous fans include:
Ian Austin (cricketer)
Alastair Campbell (Labour Spin Doctor)
Chumbawamba (Group of people who make a lot of noise)
Stuart Fielden (Rugby League player)
Steve Halliwell (Actor)
Andy Hodgson (Bidtv Presenter)
Neil Hodgson (Former World Superbike Champion)
Sir Bernard Ingham (Tory Spin Doctor)
John Kettley (BBC Weatherman)
Tony Livesey (Journalist and Broadcaster)
Richard Moore (Dunno who this fella is, any help appreciated)
Peter Salmon (TV Producer and Executive)
Kevin Whately (Actor)
Phil Willis (Lib Dem Politician)
Peter Pike (Labour Politician)
Amy Lame (radio presenter, comedian, model, club promoter, writer, and television presenter)

Trivia
Burnley also used to be known as the Royals. It was apparently because they were the first team to be watched by a monarch when they beat Liverpool in the 1914 FA Cup.
A Lancashire regiment was stationed near the Benedictine monastery in World War I and the soldiers brought a taste for the liquor back to Burnley. As a result there's a working men's club in the town sells more of the stuff per year than anywhere else in the world. Apparently.

Match Odds

Odds on Bet365 are as follows:
Home win 1/2
Away win 5/1
Draw 11/4

Fans Views

A couple of Burnley FC messageboards to choose from. In the end I chose Clarets Mad, the results of which can be seen here

[bracknell loyal royal!]

A bet on a draw looks good.

[Alan Partridge]

handbags, genuinely there are good questions in there, but why refer to us as a Rochdale or Bury of the south?, that's absurd!! Especially when Burnley? Who are they? Exactly. Are having a go at our support. Our average attendance has been more than theirs for quite some time and will be for YEARS AND YEARS to come.

It's also a real shame that so many people are uneducated and just say Reading spent tons of cash to get where they are, will never last and their support won't last either. Nothing could be further from the truth than that opening statement.

Telling you now, the days of Reading getting below 15,000 for a league gate are over for many a year, which is significantly more than Burnley get. Also if you go through what we have spent it is absolute peanuts compared to a lot of Championship clubs nevermind Premiership clubs. the last time Reading spent big and above their station was back in Division 2.

It really grinds my gears that we don't get the respect for finding players at cheap prices and moulding them into a really good side. That annoys me more than any pundit saying we will lose or draw with a side.

[handbags_harris]

handbags, genuinely there are good questions in there, but why refer to us as a Rochdale or Bury of the south?, that's absurd!! Especially when Burnley? Who are they? Exactly. Are having a go at our support. Our average attendance has been more than theirs for quite some time and will be for YEARS AND YEARS to come.

It's also a real shame that so many people are uneducated and just say Reading spent tons of cash to get where they are, will never last and their support won't last either. Nothing could be further from the truth than that opening statement.

Telling you now, the days of Reading getting below 15,000 for a league gate are over for many a year, which is significantly more than Burnley get. Also if you go through what we have spent it is absolute peanuts compared to a lot of Championship clubs nevermind Premiership clubs. the last time Reading spent big and above their station was back in Division 2.

It really grinds my gears that we don't get the respect for finding players at cheap prices and moulding them into a really good side. That annoys me more than any pundit saying we will lose or draw with a side.

Refering to us as a "Bury/Rochdale of the south is exactly what we were when I first started going to matches in 89. Low crowds, and for many a year before we were loitering between the bottom 2 divisions (with one excursion to the 2nd tier in 86-88) . History suggests that we were on a par with these 2 clubs for many a season, and it surprises me AP that you're disputing this point. Yes, since the early 90's we've had our expectations set much higher, particularly since 95. But before then we were just another slightly insignificant club nobody outside of Reading really cared about.

[LUX]

I tend to agree with HH. I think he was referring to our (modest, but long) history, not the size of our crowds when comparing us to them. But Bury and Rochdale are long term Div 4 teams and we are (historically) very much Div 3.

Maybe Rotherham? Many years in all three lower divisions? Oldham ditto, but with a spell in the top flight not too long ago.

Obviously we are on another level now. I honestly believe that not five minutes goes by without me thinking about our current situation.

[Kitson12]

The Match

Reading V Burnley
FA Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 6 January 2007
Kick off 3pm

Famous Fans

Famous fans include:

Amy Lame (radio presenter, comedian, model, club promoter, writer, and television presenter)

Lol, bit like the team really.

[ScottishRoyal]

Also if you go through what we have spent it is absolute peanuts compared to a lot of Championship clubs nevermind Premiership clubs. the last time Reading spent big and above their station was back in Division 2.

It really grinds my gears that we don't get the respect for finding players at cheap prices and moulding them into a really good side. That annoys me more than any pundit saying we will lose or draw with a side.

That annoys me too as it shows ignorrance of other fans part, assuming that you have to spend to be successful. That aside though good feedback.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

A bet on a draw looks good.

Think you'll find the draw is 11/4 with 5/1 an away win.

Im expecting a typical negative Cotterill approach to the game given their recent bad run.

[handbags_harris]

A bet on a draw looks good.

Think you'll find the draw is 11/4 with 5/1 an away win.

Im expecting a typical negative Cotterill approach to the game given their recent bad run.

Corrected.

[RoyalBlue]

The Match

Reading V Burnley
FA Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 6 January 2007
Kick off 3pm

Famous Fans

Famous fans include:

Amy Lame (radio presenter, comedian, model, club promoter, writer, and television presenter)

Lol, bit like the team really.

Amy Lame a model?! Now that really is

[Trigger]

handbags, genuinely there are good questions in there, but why refer to us as a Rochdale or Bury of the south?, that's absurd!!

Surely the closest similarity would between Reading and Wigan. Likening Reading to Bury or Rochdale can only be meant in a pejorative sense.

Mind you I can't be arsed to read the Burnley board so I shouldn't really comment.

[TFF]

The Match

Reading V Burnley
FA Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 6 January 2007
Kick off 3pm

Famous Fans

Famous fans include:

Amy Lame (radio presenter, comedian, model, club promoter, writer, and television presenter)

Lol, bit like the team really.

Amy Lame a model?! Now that really is

Heather Mills is a lame model. HTH

[floyd__streete]

Surely the closest similarity would between Reading and Wigan. Likening Reading to Bury or Rochdale can only be meant in a pejorative sense.

I'd have said we were more the Rotherham, ie. we had our ocassional season in the second tier but were more often than not yo-yoing between the bottom two divisions. Rochdale have never been that high and Bury only latterly in the last century whilst and our crowds have never, even in the darkest days, really got as bad as the sub-2,000 gates Rochdale have often attracted.

[floyd__streete]

Famous fans include:

Alastair Campbell (Labour Spin Doctor)

I can think of no greater inspiration to win tomorrow than to inflict misery on the above named hideous human being. And I speak as a Labour voter.

[M4 Junction 11]

Burnley on the other hand have already been busy in the transfer window, buying back Ade Akinbiyi from Sheffield United for £750,000 only a year after he upped sticks to go to Sheffield United (cracking bit of business by Neil Warnock again after buying him for £1.75 million).

[bobby m's syrup]

Does anyone really care what the fans of a played out club from a run down hell hole think?

[M4 Junction 11]

I think their place is lovely

[Elm Park Old Boy]

At least playing Burnley gives us a chance to enjoy again the art of Mr John Cooper Clarke

http://www.cyberspike.com/clarke/burnley.html

[Russian]

hi
Congratulate all forumers with holidays

i told yesterday with Bikey
He will play in defensive midfield position

in RB position will play De la Cruz

So Coppel wants to make some chenges in1st squad)

[rotherwick_royal]

hi
Congratulate all forumers with holidays

i told yesterday with Bikey
He will play in defensive midfield position

in RB position will play De la Cruz

So Coppel wants to make some chenges in1st squad)

Good, I'd like to see Bikey play a whole game in midfield - I think it might turn out to be his best position.

There are a few players like Bikey that we haven't seen enough of, which is why I'll be there tonight. Looking forward to seeing Scott Golbourne too.